[1053] Tears of a Clown

Guest poem submitted by Gerry Rowe, <gerry.rowe@>:

Now if there's a smile on my face
it's only there tryin' to fool the public
but when it comes down to foolin' you;
Now honey, that's quite a different subject

But don't let my glad expression
give you the wrong impression
Really I'm sad
I'm sadder than sad
You're gone and I'm hurtin' so bad
Like a clown I pretend to be glad

Now there's some sad things known to man
but ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown
when there's no one around

Now if I appear to be carefree
it's only to camouflage my sadness
In order to keep my pride I try
to cover the hurt with a show of gladness

But don't let my show convince you
that I've been happy since you decided to go
Oh, I need you so
I'm hurt and I want you to know

Now there's some sad things known to man
but ain't too much sadder than
the tears of a clown
when there's no one around

Just like Pagliacci did
I try to keep my sadness hid
Smiling in the public eye
But in my lonely room I cry
the tears of a clown
when there's no one around

Now if there's a smile on my face
Don't let my glad expression
Give you the wrong impression.
Don't let this smile I wear
Make you think that I don't care
Really I'm sad
Hurtin' so bad...

	-- William 'Smokey' Robinson

(Song credited to W. Robinson/H. Cosby/S. Wonder)

Why Smokey Robinson on the Minstrels? It's not a reason, but Bob Dylan
allegedly once referred to Robinson as America's Greatest Living poet. When
allegedly queried about this he allegedly said that he had in fact meant to
say Arthur Rimbaud! Also, Smokey Robinson is definitely a minstrel and this
is a minstrel's song!

Stevie Wonder, who co-wrote Tears of a Clown, also nominates William
Robinson as an all time-great lyricist. I have to say that if the song
wasn't composed and sung so nicely I might never have noticed these lyrics
but once I did I found them more than up to snuff (English understatement
for very good indeed).

The starting point is fairly standard for a pop tune but it's elevated by
clever use of the clown image, tremendous metre that sings and reads equally
well and some fine rhyming that never diverts the piece. The whole thing is
very cogent and beautifully crafted.

I like the internal rhyme of 'convince you' with 'since you'.

Pagliacci is an opera by Leoncavallo in which a clown called Canio sings a
lament similar in substance to Tears of a Clown. Pagliacci wasn't a
character as such but what the hell!

If you're wondering who Smokey Robinson is you could check out a host of
websites for details. Briefly, soul singer, songwriter, Motown producer who
wrote many hits for himself and others. According to one website he's still
looking for gigs in his sixties so you could hire him!

Gerry.

From: Peter Denek <pdenek@>

Good synopsis of the song and its history.  The lyric
about Pagliacci seems on target to me.  The characters
of the opera put on a play, and Pagliacci is one of
the characters of the play and must keep his feelings hidden.

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From: "Daniel Lurie" <dlurie@>

quality song, but in the fourth paragraph the line goes, "in order to
shield my pride I try"

cheers