Send in the Clowns
Encyclopedia
"Send in the Clowns" is a song
by Stephen Sondheim
from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music
, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman
's film Smiles of a Summer Night
. It is a ballad
from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she looks back on an affair years earlier with the lawyer Fredrik. Meeting him after so long, she finds that he is now in an unconsummated marriage with a much younger woman. Desirée proposes marriage to rescue him from this situation, but he declines, citing his dedication to his bride. Reacting to his rejection, Desirée sings this song. The song is later reprised as a coda
after Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and Fredrik is finally free to accept Desirée's offer.
Sondheim wrote the song specifically for the actress Glynis Johns
, who created the role of Desirée on Broadway
. The song is structured with four verses and a bridge, and uses a complex triple meter. It became Sondheim's most popular song after Frank Sinatra
recorded it in 1973 and Judy Collins
's version charted in 1975 and 1977. Subsequently, Sarah Vaughan
, Judi Dench
, Grace Jones
, Barbra Streisand
, Shirley Bassey
, Zarah Leander
, Tiger Lillies
and many other famous artists have recorded the song, and it became a jazz standard
.
In a 2008 interview, Sondheim further clarified:
, Judi Dench
, who performed the role of Desirée in London, commented on the context of the song. The play is "a dark play about people who, at the beginning, are with wrong partners and in the end it is hopefully going to become right, and she (Desiree) mistimes her life in a way and realizes when she re-meets the man she had an affair with and had a child by (though he does not know that), that she loves him and he is the man she wants."
Some years before the play begins, Desirée was a young, attractive actress, whose passions were the theater and men. She lived her life dramatically, flitting from man to man. Fredrik was one of her many lovers and fell deeply in love with Desirée, but she declined to marry him. The play implies that when they parted Desirée may have been pregnant with his child.
A few months before the play begins, Fredrik married a beautiful woman who at 18 years old was much younger than he. In Act One, Fredrik meets Desirée again, and is introduced to her daughter, a precocious adolescent suggestively named Fredrika. Fredrik explains to Desirée that he is now married to the young woman, whom he loves, but who is still a virgin and refuses to have sex with him. Desirée and Fredrik then make love.
Act Two begins days later, and Desirée realizes that she truly loves Fredrik. She tells Fredrik that he needs to be rescued from his marriage, and she proposes to him. Fredrik explains to Desirée that he has been swept off the ground and is "in the air" in love with his beautiful, young wife, and apologizes for having misled her. Fredrik walks across the room, while Desirée remains sitting on the bed; as she feels both intense sadness and anger, at herself, her life and her choices, she sings, "Send in the Clowns." Not long thereafter, Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and he is free to accept Desirée's proposal, and the song is reprised as a coda.
, who created the role of Desirée. According to Sondheim, "Glynis had a lovely, crystal voice, but sustaining notes was not her thing. I wanted to write short phrases, so I wrote a song full of questions" and the song's melody is within a small music range:
The song uses an unusual and complex meter, which alternates between 12/8 and 9/8. These are two complex triple meters that evoke the sense of a waltz used throughout the score of the show. Sondheim tells the story:
Sondheim teaches both dramatic and lyric performers several important elements for an accurate rendition:
Sondheim himself apologizes for flaws in his composition. For example, in the line, "Well, maybe next year," the melodic emphasis is on the word "year" but the dramatic emphasis must be on the word "next":
Another example arises from Sondheim's roots as a speaker of American rather than British English: The line "Don't you love farce?" features two juxtaposed labiodental fricative sounds (the former [v] voiced, the latter [f] devoiced). American concert and stage performers will often fail to "breathe" and/or "voice" between the two fricatives, leading audiences familiar with British slang to hear "Don't you love arse
?," misinterpreting the lyric or at the least perceiving an unintended double entendre
. Sondheim agrees that "[i]t's an awkward moment in the lyric, but that v and that f should be separated."
In the line of the fourth verse, "I thought that you'd want what I want. Sorry, my dear," the performer must communicate the connection between the "want" and the "sorry". Similarly, Sondheim insists that performers separately enunciate both "t"'s in line, "There ought to be clowns."
The differences are illustrated and may be compared in the performances of Glynis Johns and Judi Dench
with those of Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra. The former are dramatic and meant for the theater; the latter are lyric and meant for the concert hall:
In 1975, Judy Collins recorded "Send In the Clowns" and included it in her album, Judith
.
The song was released as a single, which soon became a major pop hit. It remained on the Billboard Hot 100
for 11 weeks in 1975, reaching Number 36.
Then, in 1977, the song again reached the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for 16 weeks and reached Number 19.
At the Grammy Awards of 1976
, the Judy Collins performance of the song was named "Song of the Year".
After Collins recorded the song, it was recorded by Frank Sinatra
, Kenny Rogers
, Lou Rawls
and many others.
In 1985, Sondheim added a verse for Barbra Streisand
to use in her concert performances.
and recording, which was featured on The Broadway Album
. In 1986, her version became a Number 25 Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary hit.
The song has become a jazz standard
with performances by Count Basie
, Sarah Vaughan
, the Stan Kenton Orchestra and many others.
On September 7, 2010, the song was the subject-matter of the BBC Radio Four series, "Soul Music".
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's film Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night a.k.a. Smiles on a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was the first of Bergman's films to bring the director international success, due to its exposure at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival...
. It is a ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she looks back on an affair years earlier with the lawyer Fredrik. Meeting him after so long, she finds that he is now in an unconsummated marriage with a much younger woman. Desirée proposes marriage to rescue him from this situation, but he declines, citing his dedication to his bride. Reacting to his rejection, Desirée sings this song. The song is later reprised as a coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
after Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and Fredrik is finally free to accept Desirée's offer.
Sondheim wrote the song specifically for the actress Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, who created the role of Desirée on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. The song is structured with four verses and a bridge, and uses a complex triple meter. It became Sondheim's most popular song after Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded it in 1973 and Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
's version charted in 1975 and 1977. Subsequently, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Zarah Leander
Zarah Leander
Zarah Leander was a Swedish actress and singer.Leander began her career in the late 1920s, and by the mid 1930s her success in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, led to invitations to work in the United States...
, Tiger Lillies
Tiger Lillies
The Tiger Lillies are a three-piece band, formed in 1989 and based in London. They have toured worldwide and won acclaim with their opera Shockheaded Peter....
and many other famous artists have recorded the song, and it became a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
.
Meaning of title
The "clowns" in the title do not refer to circus clowns. Instead, they symbolize fools, as Sondheim explained in a 1990 interview:In a 2008 interview, Sondheim further clarified:
Context
In an interview with Alan TitchmarshAlan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh, MBE DL is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a garden journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes...
, Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, who performed the role of Desirée in London, commented on the context of the song. The play is "a dark play about people who, at the beginning, are with wrong partners and in the end it is hopefully going to become right, and she (Desiree) mistimes her life in a way and realizes when she re-meets the man she had an affair with and had a child by (though he does not know that), that she loves him and he is the man she wants."
Some years before the play begins, Desirée was a young, attractive actress, whose passions were the theater and men. She lived her life dramatically, flitting from man to man. Fredrik was one of her many lovers and fell deeply in love with Desirée, but she declined to marry him. The play implies that when they parted Desirée may have been pregnant with his child.
A few months before the play begins, Fredrik married a beautiful woman who at 18 years old was much younger than he. In Act One, Fredrik meets Desirée again, and is introduced to her daughter, a precocious adolescent suggestively named Fredrika. Fredrik explains to Desirée that he is now married to the young woman, whom he loves, but who is still a virgin and refuses to have sex with him. Desirée and Fredrik then make love.
Act Two begins days later, and Desirée realizes that she truly loves Fredrik. She tells Fredrik that he needs to be rescued from his marriage, and she proposes to him. Fredrik explains to Desirée that he has been swept off the ground and is "in the air" in love with his beautiful, young wife, and apologizes for having misled her. Fredrik walks across the room, while Desirée remains sitting on the bed; as she feels both intense sadness and anger, at herself, her life and her choices, she sings, "Send in the Clowns." Not long thereafter, Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and he is free to accept Desirée's proposal, and the song is reprised as a coda.
History
Sondheim wrote the lyrics and music over a two-day period during rehearsals for the play's Broadway debut, specifically for the actress Glynis JohnsGlynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, who created the role of Desirée. According to Sondheim, "Glynis had a lovely, crystal voice, but sustaining notes was not her thing. I wanted to write short phrases, so I wrote a song full of questions" and the song's melody is within a small music range:
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song are written in four verses and a bridge and sung by Desirée. As Sondheim explains, Desirée experiences both deep regret and furious anger:Meter and key
The song was originally written in the primary key of Eb major.The song uses an unusual and complex meter, which alternates between 12/8 and 9/8. These are two complex triple meters that evoke the sense of a waltz used throughout the score of the show. Sondheim tells the story:
Styles
"Send in the Clowns" is performed in two completely different styles: dramatic and lyric. The dramatic style is the theatrical performance by Desirée, and this style emphasizes Desirée's feelings of anger and regret, and the dramatic style acts as a cohesive part of the play. The lyric style is the concert performance, and this style emphasizes the sweetness of the melody and the poetry of the lyrics. Most performances are in concert, so they emphasize the beauty of the melody and lyrics.Sondheim teaches both dramatic and lyric performers several important elements for an accurate rendition:
The dramatic performer must take on the character of Desirée: a woman who finally realizes that she has misspent her youth on the shallow life. She is both angry and sad, and both must be seen in the performance. Two important examples are the contrast between the lines, "Quick, send in the clowns" and "Well, maybe next year." Sondheim teaches that the former should be steeped in self-loathing, while the latter should emphasize regret. Thus, the former is clipped, with a break between "quick" and "send," while the latter "well" is held pensively.
Sondheim himself apologizes for flaws in his composition. For example, in the line, "Well, maybe next year," the melodic emphasis is on the word "year" but the dramatic emphasis must be on the word "next":
Another example arises from Sondheim's roots as a speaker of American rather than British English: The line "Don't you love farce?" features two juxtaposed labiodental fricative sounds (the former [v] voiced, the latter [f] devoiced). American concert and stage performers will often fail to "breathe" and/or "voice" between the two fricatives, leading audiences familiar with British slang to hear "Don't you love arse
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
?," misinterpreting the lyric or at the least perceiving an unintended double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
. Sondheim agrees that "[i]t's an awkward moment in the lyric, but that v and that f should be separated."
In the line of the fourth verse, "I thought that you'd want what I want. Sorry, my dear," the performer must communicate the connection between the "want" and the "sorry". Similarly, Sondheim insists that performers separately enunciate both "t"'s in line, "There ought to be clowns."
The differences are illustrated and may be compared in the performances of Glynis Johns and Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
with those of Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra. The former are dramatic and meant for the theater; the latter are lyric and meant for the concert hall:
- Glynis Johns personifies Desirée: She created the character on Broadway, and her interpretation highlights Desirée's regret and anger, for example, when she sings, "Isn't it rich?" As Glynis Johns did in the U.S., Jean SimmonsJean SimmonsJean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
created Desirée for the U.K. stage in 1975 to similar effect. A popular revival of A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
in 1995 starred Judi Dench, and her rendition of the song has become highly acknowledged as one of the best. In her performance, she does not sing so much as tell the story, with bitterness as she hisses the line, "Isn't it rich?," and the hard "k" in "clowns." She won the Olivier Award for her performance.
- In contrast with the Johns and Dench, Judy Collins's performs not as an actress portraying Desirée but as a pop singer of a sad ballad. She never played Desirée in the theater; instead, she used the beautiful lyrics and melody to create a major pop hit. Similarly, Frank Sinatra performs a traditional ballad.
Popular success
In 1973, the play and song debuted on Broadway. The song become popular with theater audiences but had not become a pop hit. Sondheim explained how the song became a hit:In 1975, Judy Collins recorded "Send In the Clowns" and included it in her album, Judith
Judith (album)
Judith was Judy Collins' best-selling album from 1975. It peaked at No 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.It includes Collins' hit recording of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns", as well as material by Steve Goodman, Jimmy Webb, the Rolling Stones, and the standard "Brother, Can You Spare...
.
The song was released as a single, which soon became a major pop hit. It remained on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for 11 weeks in 1975, reaching Number 36.
Then, in 1977, the song again reached the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for 16 weeks and reached Number 19.
At the Grammy Awards of 1976
Grammy Awards of 1976
The 18th Grammy Awards were held February 28, 1976, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1975.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
, the Judy Collins performance of the song was named "Song of the Year".
After Collins recorded the song, it was recorded by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
and many others.
In 1985, Sondheim added a verse for Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
to use in her concert performances.
and recording, which was featured on The Broadway Album
The Broadway Album
The Broadway Album is the twenty-fourth studio album by director, composer, actress and singer Barbra Streisand, released by Columbia Records on November 4, 1985. Consisting mainly of classic show tunes, the album marked a major shift in Barbra Streisand's career. Streisand had spent ten years...
. In 1986, her version became a Number 25 Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary hit.
The song has become a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
with performances by Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, the Stan Kenton Orchestra and many others.
Recordings
The song occurs on over 900 records by hundreds of performers in a wide variety of arrangements. Among these are:- 1973: Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded it on his album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back - 1975: Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
recorded Arthur GreensladeArthur GreensladeArthur Greenslade was a British conductor and arranger for films and television as well as for a number of performers. In the 1950s he was pianist and arranger with the Oscar Rabin Band. He has arranged for Jack Jones, Chris Farlowe, Serge Gainsbourg, Genesis, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross and Dusty...
's arrangement of the song on the album Good, Bad, but Beautiful. - 1975: Judy CollinsJudy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
recorded the song on her album JudithJudith (album)Judith was Judy Collins' best-selling album from 1975. It peaked at No 17 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.It includes Collins' hit recording of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns", as well as material by Steve Goodman, Jimmy Webb, the Rolling Stones, and the standard "Brother, Can You Spare...
(arrangement by Jonathan TunickJonathan TunickJonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
) - 1975: Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, at the age of 71, recorded it for his album That's What Life Is All About. - 1975: Zarah LeanderZarah LeanderZarah Leander was a Swedish actress and singer.Leander began her career in the late 1920s, and by the mid 1930s her success in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, led to invitations to work in the United States...
, who played Madame Armfeldt (Desirée's mother) in the German production of A Little Night Music recorded a German versionGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
titled "Wo sind die clowns?". - 1975: Frida (Anni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid LyngstadAnni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
) of ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
recorded a Swedish-language version called "Var är min clown?" (with Swedish lyrics by Mats Paulson) on her solo album "Frida ensamFrida ensamFrida ensam is a solo album by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The album was produced by her fiancé, ABBA member Benny Andersson and was first released by Polar Music in 1975. It has since been re-released several times, most significantly in remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks...
". - 1976: Stan KentonStan KentonStanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
on his album Kenton '76 - 1976: Jazz guitarist Pat MartinoPat MartinoPat Martino is an Italian-American jazz guitarist and composer within the post bop, fusion, mainstream jazz, soul jazz and hard bop idioms.-Biography:...
recorded an instrumental version of the song for We'll be Together Again - 1977: Jazz vocalist Lorez AlexandriaLorez AlexandriaLorez Alexandria was an American jazz and gospel singer....
recorded an uptempo version for her album From Broadway To Hollywood which subsequently became popular on the UK jazz dance and soul scenes, eventually being rereleased as a 7 inch single on Jazzman RecordsJazzman RecordsJazzman Records is a record label founded by London DJ Gerald Short in 1998, specialising in re-releasing hard-to-find jazz, funk and soul vinyl records...
in 2000. - 1977: Guitarist and educator Ted GreeneTed GreeneTheodore "Ted" Greene was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California.-Early Days:...
arranged the song for his Solo Guitar. - 1977: Grace JonesGrace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
recorded a discoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version of the song for her debut album, Portfolio. - 1977: Spanish singer RaphaelRaphael (singer)For the French singer Raphael see Raphaël HarocheMiguel Rafael Martos Sánchez , often simply referred to as Raphael, is a worldwide acclaimed Spanish singer and television, film and theatre actor...
recorded the song in CastilianCastilian SpanishCastilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. In English Castilian Spanish usually refers to the variety of European Spanish spoken in north and central Spain or as the language standard for radio and TV speakers...
on the album El Cantor ("The Singer") - 1977: Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, although hitherto not a singer, recorded the song for the film adaptation of A Little Night Music, in which she played Desirée. - 1977: Mel TorméMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
recorded an uptempo version for his album The London Sessions, arranged by Christopher GunningChristopher GunningChristopher Gunning is a British composer of concert works and music for films and television....
. Taken at a sprightly pace, with a bright, slowly building big band arrangement and a joyous saxophone solo by Phil WoodsPhil WoodsPhilip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, it would seem at cross purposes with the material, but Tormé gives a suitably wry reading which highlights the absurdity happening around him. - 1978: The pop group Brotherhood of ManBrotherhood of ManBrotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
recorded a largely a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version for their album Twenty GreatestTwenty GreatestTwenty Greatest is the sixth album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man and their first compilation. It was released in 1978 and became their biggest selling album.-Background:...
. - 1978: Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
recorded the song for his British album Life is Beautiful. It was issued on a single in England. - 1981: Jazz vocalist Carmen McRaeCarmen McRaeCarmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
recorded this song on her album "Live at Bubba's". - 1983: Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
sings the song live on the CD A Stephen Sondheim Evening, with Sondheim accompanying her on the piano. - 1983: Elaine PaigeElaine PaigeElaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
recorded a version for her album StagesStages (Elaine Paige album)Stages is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1983 on the Warner Music and has been re-issued on CD. The album charted in the UK album charts at #2 in 1983....
. - 1985: Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
recorded Jeremy Lubbock's arrangement on The Broadway AlbumThe Broadway AlbumThe Broadway Album is the twenty-fourth studio album by director, composer, actress and singer Barbra Streisand, released by Columbia Records on November 4, 1985. Consisting mainly of classic show tunes, the album marked a major shift in Barbra Streisand's career. Streisand had spent ten years...
. - 1989: Roger WhittakerRoger WhittakerRoger Whittaker is an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of over 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability...
performed the song live at the Tivoli, CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on March 27. This live performance was later released as an album Live and is also available on video. - 1991: A version was recorded by Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
during sessions for his abandoned album Horoscope, but has not been legitimately released. Some bootleg editions of the album contain the song as the final vocal track. - 1992: Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
performed the song live at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in the concert Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall. Her performance was seen on the subsequent televised version of this concert, and can be seen on the CD and DVD releases. - 1993: Krusty the Clown of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
covered the song on the soundtrack Songs in the Key of SpringfieldSongs in the Key of SpringfieldSongs in the Key of Springfield is a soundtrack/novelty album from The Simpsons compiling many of the musical numbers from the series. The album was released in the United States on March 18, 1997, and in the United Kingdom in June 1997... - 1994: Renato RussoRenato RussoRenato Russo was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. His first band was a punk rock band called "Aborto Elétrico" . The band then broke up and split in two different ones: "Capital Inicial" and "Legião Urbana"...
, a Brazilian singer, recorded it on his solo album called The Stonewall Celebration Concert - 1995: Roger WhittakerRoger WhittakerRoger Whittaker is an Anglo-Kenyan singer-songwriter and musician with worldwide record sales of over 55 million. His music can be described as easy listening. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability...
recorded the song for his album On Broadway - 1995: Howard KeelHoward KeelHarold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
recorded the song and it is available on the album The Best of Howard Keel. - 1998: Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
performed the song during "Hey! Mr. Producer", an evening celebrating British theatrical producer Cameron MackintoshCameron MackintoshSir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
. - 1998: This song was covered by JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Eric ReedEric Reed (musician)Eric Scott Reed, , in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American jazz pianist and composer.His group Black Note released several albums in the 1990s.-Biography:...
for his album Pure ImaginationPure Imagination (album)Pure Imagination is a 1998 album by jazz pianist Eric Reed released through Impulse! Records. This album contains reinterpretations of traditional pop songs from classic Broadway and Hollywood productions such as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Porgy and Bess, A Little Night Music among others...
. - 1998: Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
recorded the song several times between 1998 and 2005. - 1998: MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
recorded the song live at the Hammersmith Odeon. - 2000: The song was covered by the Tiger LilliesTiger LilliesThe Tiger Lillies are a three-piece band, formed in 1989 and based in London. They have toured worldwide and won acclaim with their opera Shockheaded Peter....
on their album Circus Songs. - 2002: Mandy PatinkinMandy PatinkinMandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
performs the song on his album Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim. - 2003: Jean ShyJean ShyJean Shy is an internationally acclaimed soul, Blues, jazz and Gospel singer, songwriter, music producer, and actress. Born in Chicago, Shy's vocal background had its beginning in Gospel music. Mahalia Jackson was her first musical Idol. Elvis Presley inspired her to become a professional...
performs a unique version of the song with the JBBO on their album The Other Side Of Blue. - 2004: Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
's version appears on the album Women of Song - 2005: Bobo StensonBobo StensonBo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...
& Anders JorminAnders JorminAnders Bertil Michael Jormin, born September 7, 1957 in Jönköping, is a Swedish bassist and composer.Jormin established a musical partnership with Bobo Stenson in the mid-1980s which led to international recognition playing with Charles Lloyd, in the early 1990s...
& Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
Jazz Trio version appears on album Goodbye - 2006: Opera BabesOpera BabesThe Opera Babes are a crossover classical music duo, consisting of Karen England , mezzo soprano, and Rebecca Knight , soprano....
performed a classical version of the song on their album Renaissance. - 2007: Peter CrissPeter CrissGeorge Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
on his album One for AllOne for All (Peter Criss album)One for All is the fifth studio album by former Kiss drummer and vocalist Peter Criss. It was released by Megaforce Records on July 23, 2007. The album reached number 36 on the Billboard Top Independent Album list... - 2008: Mark KozelekMark KozelekMark Kozelek is an American singer/songwriter Producer and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters.-History:...
recorded this song and released it on his album The Finally LPThe Finally LPThe Finally LP is a compilation album by Mark Kozelek. The CD was released on December 9, 2008 via Caldo Verde Records. According to the Caldo Verde website:... - 2008: Patricia KaasPatricia KaasPatricia Kaas is a French singer and actress.Kaas is a very successful French-speaking singer, with an International following...
recorded this song in German ("Wo sind die Clowns?") and French ("Faites entrer les clowns") and released it on her album KabaretKabaretKabaret ist the eighth studio album by French singer Patricia Kaas. It was first released digitally on December 15, 2008. The physical release followed in Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Russia on February 6, 2009, and in a double CD edition in France on March 30, 2009.Kabaret, written with a K,...
. French lyrics by Stephane Laporte. - 2009: All AngelsAll AngelsAll Angels are a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla andCharlotte Ritchie....
recorded a four-part version of the song for their third album. - 2009: Catherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
performed the song in the role of Desirée in the 2009/2010 Broadway revival of A Little Night Music directed by Trevor NunnTrevor NunnSir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera... - 2011: Mathilde SantingMathilde SantingMathilde Santing is a Dutch singer .Santing was born in Amstelveen, The Netherlands. She started receiving national attention in 1981 after she appeared with Sonja Barend in a Dutch television programme called Sonja Op Maandag.Over the last 25 years she has released a steady stream of albums,...
recorded this song version for her live album Luck be a lady. - 2011 Sandi PattySandi PattySandra Faye "Sandi" Patty is an American Christian music singer. For many years she was known as Sandi Patti. She has been dubbed "The Voice" by critics, because of her wide range and flexibility.-Early life:...
recorded this song on her album, Broadway Stories
On September 7, 2010, the song was the subject-matter of the BBC Radio Four series, "Soul Music".
Other versions and parodies
- Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
frequently performed the song in his live set. A live version from Ronny Scott's in London with Chet Baker was released on the album Nightbird. - Stars of the LidStars of the LidStars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...
recorded a version called "Don't Bother They're Here" for their 2007 album And Their Refinement of the Decline. - The Santa Clara Vanguard uses an instrumental version as its official corps song, which is played at the anniversary dinner, as well as in encore performances.
- The song was performed as a snippet during the song "The Electric Co.The Electric Co."The Electric Co." or "Cry/The Electric Co." is the tenth song by Irish rock band U2 from their debut album Boy, released in 1980.- History :...
" on the U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
release, Under A Blood Red SkyUnder a Blood Red SkyDuring the performance of "The Electric Co.", Bono included a 27 second snippet of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns". When Under a Blood Red Sky was released, U2 failed to get permission and pay the appropriate licensing and royalty fees to include that piece of Sondheim's tune on the album...
. However, the band did not have the appropriate licensing and did not pay the required royalties and were fined $50,000 (US) and had to make sure any further pressings of the release had an edited version of the song. - In the twenty-second and final episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
fourth season, entitled Krusty Gets Cancelled, Krusty the Clown sings the altered lyrics: "Send in those soulful and doleful, schmaltz-by-the-bowlful clowns" in a musical number of his comeback special. - The song figures prominently in a plotline on the daytime soap opera Ryan's HopeRyan's HopeRyan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
in October 1988 when villain Max Dubujax plants a bomb in a music box that plays the tune. Before he dies from a gunshot wound, he tells his ex-wife Siobhan Ryan, the intended victim, about "losing my timing so late in my career". The bomb detonates in November 1988, killing Siobhan's husband Joe Novak. Tichina ArnoldTichina ArnoldTichina Rolanda Arnold is an American actress and singer. She is best known for having portrayed the roles of Pamela James on the FOX sitcom Martin and the family matriarch Rochelle on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris....
sings a version of the song that is used throughout the storyline. - On July 30, 2009, a Broadway-style dance version of "Send in the Clowns", choreographed by Tyce DiorioTyce DiorioKeith "Tyce" Diorio is an American dancer and choreographer. He is best known for his work as a choreographer and guest judge on the Fox television series So You Think You Can Dance. He has choreographed and performed with Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin...
, was shown to open So You Think You Can DanceSo You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
(Season 5 Episode 21) Top 6 Results. - 'Over the Rainbow' contestant Jenny Douglas performed her version of 'Send in the Clowns' during the 2010 talent contest to find a leading lady for the Wizard of Oz, in musical theatre week.
- Voice actress Brina Palencia performed a version of "Send in the Clowns" at the convention Anime Central in May of 2010.
- 'Send in the Clowns' is an important piece to the character of Switters in the Tom RobbinsTom RobbinsThomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
novel Fierce Invalids Home from Hot ClimatesFierce Invalids Home from Hot ClimatesFierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates is Tom Robbins' seventh and longest novel, first published in 2000.-Plot introduction:Invalids follows Switters, our wheelchair-using protagonist, across four continents, in and out of love and danger...
. - Comedian Will Ferrell performed the song on David Letterman's show on 2nd August 2010
- German Moreno (Kuya Germs) had used this as his main birthday song since his movie Payaso (1986) up to present.
- The song is performed on an episode of the US sitcom Newhart, leading the dim-witted character of George Utley (Tom Poston) to say, "I never realized what that song was really about! It's about clowns, and when to send them in."
- In December 2010, Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
wrote and performed an "extended ending" to 'Send in the Clowns' to composer Stephen Sondheim when he appeared on Colbert's program, The Colbert Report. - In 1997 at the opening of the Sydney parliament the NSW Police Band performed a Hollywood theme medley with a solo oboe rendition of 'Send in the Clowns.'