Oh What a Circus
Andrew Lloyd Webber
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Oh what a circus, oh what a show Argentina has gone to town Over the death of an actress called Eva Peron We've all gone crazy Mourning all day and mourning all night Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right Oh what an exit, that's how to go When they're ringing your curtain down Demand to be buried like Eva Peron It's quite a sunset And good for the country in a roundabout way We've made the front page of all the world's papers today But who is this Santa Evita? Why all this howling, hysterical sorrow? What kind of goddess has lived among us? How will we ever get by without her? She had her moments, she had some style The best show in town was the crowd Outside the casa rosada crying, "Eva Peron" But that's all gone now As soon as the smoke from the funeral clears We're all gonna see and how, she did nothing for years Salve regina mater misericordiae Vita dulcedo et spes nostra Salve salve regina Ad te clamamus exules filii eva Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes O clemens o pia Hail, oh queen, mother of mercy Our life, sweetness, and hope Hail, hail, oh queen To you we cry, exiled sons of eve To you we sigh, mourning and weeping Oh clement, oh loving one You let down your people Evita You were supposed to have been immortal That's all they wanted, not much to ask for But in the end you could not deliver Sing you fools, but you got it wrong Enjoy your prayers because you haven't got long Your queen is dead, your king is through And she's not coming back to you Show business kept us all alive Since seventeen October 1945 But the star has gone, the glamor's worn thin That's a pretty bad state for a state to be in Instead of government we had a stage Instead of ideas, a prima donna's rage Instead of help we were given a crowd She didn't say much, but she said it loud Sing you fools, but you got it wrong Enjoy your prayers because you haven't got long Your queen is dead, your king is through She's not coming back to you Salve regina mater misericordiae Vita dulcedo et spes nostra Salve salve regina peron Ad te clamamus exules filii eva Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes O clemens o pia Don't cry for me Argentina For I am ordinary, unimportant And undeserving of such attention Unless we all are, I think we all are So share my glory, so share my coffin So share my glory, so share my coffin It's our funeral too
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Written by: ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, TIM RICE
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12 facts about this song
Song Origin"Oh What a Circus" is a song from the 1976 musical "Evita" that was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and written by Tim Rice.
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Famous VocalistBritish singer and actor, David Essex, was the original performer of the song on the concept album of the musical.
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Musical ThemeThe song is a critique of the public's fascination with Eva Peron, the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron. It implies that her charitable works were a facade to cover up her real intentions.
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Musical StructureThe tune is a contrafactum, which means that it shares the same melody with another song - in this case, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", another song from the same musical.
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Chart SuccessAfter its release in 1978, the song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for three weeks.
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Cover VersionsThere have been several cover versions of the song, including one by Mandy Patinkin for the 1980 Broadway production of the musical.
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Cinematic RepresentationIn the 1996 film adaptation of the musical, Antonio Banderas performed a rendition of the song. However, it was shortened and some lyrics were altered or omitted.
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Unique FeatureThe song features recitative sections, which are spoken or semi-spoken passages in music, contributing to its unique musicality.
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Significant Usage"Oh What a Circus" is used at both the beginning and end of the musical, serving as a powerful tool framing the entire narrative.
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Instrumental ArrangementThe song combines a range of instruments, including Spanish guitar, harp, and percussion, to give it a distinctive sound. It also features a significant orchestral part.
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Song DurationOn the Evita concept album, the song's duration is a substantial 9 minutes and 12 seconds, although the single release was shortened.
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Bilingual LyricsThe song also includes some lyrics in Latin, taken from the Latin Requiem Mass. This adds to the dramatic and serious tone of the song.
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Citation
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