The Saddest Little Show In All The Land
In 1974, Blue Magic released the single, “Sideshow”, from their self-titled album. This would be the second single released from that album, having followed “Stop To Start”, which released in 1973.
I would guess that I was first introduced to this song in the early 1990’s and I’ve been listening to it ever since. This is a song that I would refer to as a classic, now over 50 years since its initial release.
This is also one of those songs that back then and even prior to this week, I could listen to and otherwise sing along with, without devoting too much thought to it. I know the lyrics to this song very well, after having listened to it for nearly 35 years. For me, singing along to it was and still remains reflexive. I hear the song. I sing along. It’s all very natural.
Listening to this today, the song hit me quite differently, given the events that transpired yesterday. Maybe I was listening to the words, the very words I was singing and had been so accustomed to mindlessly singing in years past, with a heavier heart than usual and the words made me think just a little more about me and my current situation?
Below are the lyrics for “Sideshow”:
Hurry, hurry, step right up
See the side show in town for only fifty cents
Step right up hurry, hurry, before the show begins, my friends
Stand in line, get your ticket, I hope you will attend
It’ll only cost you fifty cents to see
What life has done to those like you and me
See the man with the broken heart, you’ll see that he is sad, he hurts so bad (so bad, so bad)
See the girl who has lost the only love she ever had
There’s got to be no sadder show to see
No doubt about it, satisfaction’s guaranteed
So let the sideshow begin
Hurry, hurry, step right up on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry
Let the sideshow begin (hurry, hurry)
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry
See the man who’s been cryin’ for a million years, so many tears (so many tears)
See the girl who’s collected broken hearts for souvenirs
It’s more exciting than a one man band
The saddest little show in all the land
So let the side show begin (hurry, hurry)
Hurry, hurry, step right up on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry
Let the sideshow begin
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry
So let the sideshow begin(hurry, hurry)
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry
So, given how I’m currently feeling, again, stemming from the events to which I was subjected yesterday, this is my newfound perspective as I listen to this song now.
In some way, I see myself as currently being a part of that sideshow, as a reluctant participant. I don’t want to be a part of this. I don’t think that anyone would want to be a part of this either. The sideshow, as I’m seeing it now, is essentially a sidestep, a trip that none of us would want to embark on all too often, if we can avoid it. It’s that brief journey that we take when we’re temporarily removed from what we consider to be our normal, everyday lives. The sideshow is a trip into sadness, despair, and even depression if it lingers, when the loss of love impacts us in a very strong and direct way. Sometimes people see us, as we’re a part of the sideshow. Sometimes people don’t see us at all and we’re left to go through the motions, sight unseen.
What life has done to those like you and me…damn, those words resonate.
Nobody wants to be sad. Nobody wants to cry. Nobody wants to lose love. Nobody wants to be part of the sideshow.
For now, I am a part of the sideshow. I don’t want to be, but here I am.
The saddest little show in all the land…indeed, this is where I currently find myself.
I still love the song, but I hate where I am right now.