[lee martell]

“Send in the Clowns.
There have to be Clowns
Well,
Maybe next year.”

[BusterDog]

“Send in the Clowns.
There have to be Clowns
Well,
Maybe next year.”

*****

Don’t bother
THEY’RE HERE!

[newfreep]

“Send in the Clowns” - one of the GREATEST PERFECT songs ever written - music and lyrics.

Babs Streisand’s version with the additional lyrics is breathtaking.

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

Send in the Clowns has achieved the well deserved status of my conic or a standard, and almost as many people have recorded it as recorded Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.

But it was originally written for Glynis Johns who created the role of Desiree on Broadway in the musical A Little Night Music.

While perfect for the role, Glynis had difficulty with sustaining notes, so Sondheim tailored the song to her capabilities.

Which didn’t stop Frank Sinatra, Judy Collins, and others from immediately recording cover versions of the song. That Sondheim wrote a song restricted by the capabilities of his singer, that was so beautiful and powerful many and more talented singers were compelled to record it, is a testament to his genius.