Send In The Clowns
Frank Sinatra Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Isn't it rich, are we a pair
Me here at last on the ground, and you in mid-air
Send in the clowns

Isn't it bliss, don't you approve
One who keeps tearing around, and one who can't move
But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Just when I stopped opening doors
Finally finding the one that I wanted, was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines, nobody's there

Don't you love a farce, my fault I fear
I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry my dear
But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here

Isn't it rich, isn't it queer
Losing my timing this late in my career




But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Well maybe next year

Overall Meaning

In "Send in the Clowns," Frank Sinatra sings about the irony of life that can leave people feeling lost and alone. The song is essentially about the aftermath of an accidental encounter with an old lover. The lyrics start out with Sinatra reflecting on his current situation, "Isn't it rich, are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground, and you in mid-air." Here, he acknowledges the difference in where he is and where his old flame is- in the air, somewhere he cannot reach.


He then goes on to question the absurdity of his situation: "Isn't it bliss, don't you approve, One who keeps tearing around, and one who can't move." He is happy to be on the ground, while his former partner is still moving forward in their life- which leaves Sinatra at a standstill. However, despite feeling his own sense of loss, he then asks for the 'clowns' to be sent in. Throughout the song, he questions the lack of clowns, something we often expect to show up in times of heartbreak or struggle.


Sinatra mentions that he thought that he and his lover were on the same page, but as fate would have it, they were not. “Don't you love a farce, my fault I fear, I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry my dear." Here, he acknowledges that the situation is his fault and that he had expectations that were not fulfilled.


Overall, "Send in the Clowns" is a song about the unexpected turns life can take, leaving us confused and alone, and the expectation of being saved by "the clowns", a metaphor for happiness or relief.


Line by Line Meaning

Isn't it rich, are we a pair
Aren't we a strange combination, you up in the sky while I'm down here on the ground?


Me here at last on the ground, and you in mid-air
I'm finally grounded and settled, but you're still flying high.


Send in the clowns
Bring in the entertainers, the clowns, to help us pass the time and take our minds off things.


Isn't it bliss, don't you approve
Aren't we happy and content with our lives and each other?


One who keeps tearing around, and one who can't move
One of us is busy and always on the move, while the other is feeling stuck in one place.


But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Where are those entertaining clowns when we need them to bring some joy into our lives?


Just when I stopped opening doors
After I stopped searching for opportunities and finally settled down to enjoy my life,


Finally finding the one that I wanted, was yours
I found the perfect love that I was looking for, but unfortunately, it ended up being yours all along.


Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Trying to make a grand entrance as I always do, with style and confidence.


Sure of my lines, nobody's there
Feeling confident about what I was going to say, but realizing that there was no one to listen.


Don't you love a farce, my fault I fear
Don't you find it amusing how things turned out, even though it was my own fault?


I thought that you'd want what I want, sorry my dear
Assuming that you shared my desires and interests, but now I realize that I was wrong, and I apologize.


But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Once again, asking for the clowns to come in and distract us from our current situation.


Don't bother, they're here
Realizing that we don't need to look for the clowns since they are already here, in the form of the absurd situation we find ourselves in.


Isn't it rich, isn't it queer
Aren't we in a strange and unexpected situation that is both amusing and unsettling?


Losing my timing this late in my career
Feeling like my sense of timing, which has always been impeccable, is now failing me in my older age.


But where are the clowns, send in the clowns
Asking for the clowns once again to save us from our current emotional turmoil.


Well maybe next year
Realizing that we may not find the solution we're looking for right now, but maybe in the future things will change for the better.




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stephen Sondheim

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

Mike


on The Lady Is A Champ

eight

She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She can't eat late and stay up all night, because unlike society types, she has to get up in the morning.

She likes the theatre and never comes late
She cares more about seeing the play than being seen making an entrance.

She never bothers with people she'd hate
Her friends are friends, not social trophies.

Doesn't like crap games with barons or earls
While barrns and earls probably don't play craps, she associates with friends, not people to be seen with.

Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
She doesn't "slum", the practice of the rich in the 30's, when the song was written, of touring poor neighborhoods dressed in rich clothes to "tut, tut" about the deplorable conditions, and congratulate each other for "caring about the poor"

Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
Doesn't trade gossip for acceptance among an in-crowd


She likes the free, fresh wind in her hair
She cares more about how her hair feels than conforming with current hair fashions

Hates California, it's cold and it's damp
Since most of California is noticeably warmer and / or drier than New York, where the play the song was written for is set, this is probably a facetious excuse to like what she likes.


And she won't go to Harlem in Lincoln's or Ford's
Another reference to slumming, but facetious, since Lincolns and Fords were middle-class, not luxury brands when the lyric was written

Anonymous


on Try a Little Tenderness

Here are the correct lyrics

Try A Little Tenderness - Frank Sinatra - Lyrics

Oh she may be weary
Women do get wearied
Wearing that same old shabby dress
And when she’s weary
You try a little tenderness

You know she’s waiting
Just anticipating things she’ll may never possess
While she is without them
Try just a little bit of tenderness

It’s not just sentimental
She has her grieve and her care
And the words that soft and gentle
Makes it easier to bear
You wont regret it
Women don't forget it
Love is their whole happiness
And it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness

Musical Interlude

And, it’s all so easy
Try a little tenderness

Daniel


on The Way You Look Tonight

I met Frank Jr. in Las Vegas, a real gentleman. RIP you both.

Giorgi Khutashvili


on Theme from New York, New York

)))

More Versions