We're coming full circle this week, as I am featuring the woman who was the subject of the song for the first ever Friday Night Jukebox post I wrote, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." The series has come a long way since then--the posts are certainly longer at any rate--and hopefully will keep going for a long ways....
Judy Collins was born in Seattle, Washington in 1939, and was originally trained as a classical pianist, making her debut at the age of thirteen playing a piece by Mozart. During her later teens, Collins became captivated by folk music and walked away from her classical training and began performing in clubs across the country at the age of 20. She released her first album in 1961 and had her first hit single with Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" in 1968. Collins has had an eclectic career, performing folk, rock, standards, and show tunes throughout it. She has won a Grammy Award, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for a film she co-directed about her classical teacher. She has released 28 studio albums (and has a new album scheduled for both this and next year), and 14 singles (with one top ten hit). Unfortunately, Collins did not have the easiest of lives, suffering from polio, tuberculosis, bulimia, and alcoholism; she also lost her only child, a son, to suicide. Collins has been active in liberal causes, and at the age of eight-two is still recording and performing in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Fun Fact: "Send in the Clowns" was written by Broadway composer extraordinaire Stephen Sondheim for his musical A Little Night Music. Sondheim won a Grammy Award for song of the year after Collins released her version; she was nominated for a Grammy but did not win.
"Send in the Clowns" was originally released as a single from Collins' album, Judith in 1975. The single hit #36 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked at #17 on the albums chart. The single was re-released in 1977 and climbed even higher, before stalling at #19.
"Send in the Clowns" tells the story of a woman who finally realizes she loves and wants to be with a man she had spurned when she was younger, only to find out he's now married. Lyrically, Sondheim masterfully juxtaposes where the woman and the man are in their current relationship, and at the same time captures its comedic though disheartening end result. Collins voice was blessed by angels when she was born, and between the beauty of her voice and her depiction of the protagonist lays bare the disappointment at the heart of the song. Throw in an opening clarinet, and the understated instrumentation provided by a piano and some softly played strings, and you have one of the most lyrically and instrumentally beautiful songs ever written. Spoiler alert: in the musical the couple eventually ends up together....
Lyric Sheet: "Isn't it rich?/Are we a pair?/Me here at last on the ground/You in midair/Send in the clowns..."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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