Song Lyric Sunday: Showtime!

Jim Adams

Once again it’s Sunday and time for Jim Adams Song Lyric Sunday. Today January 2, 2022 – Our prompt is Entertainment, Circus and Show suggested by Melanie B Cee of Sparks From A Combustible Mind.

in 1978 I was a busy mum but I always had time to be entertained by Queen and they really did entertain didn’t they. The song title has Entertain in the title band Show and Entertain in the lyrics.

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Jazz is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 10 November 1978 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the album artwork was suggested by Roger Taylor, who previously saw a similar design painted on the Berlin Wall. The album’s varying musical styles were alternately praised and criticised. It reached number two in the UK Albums Chart and number six on the US Billboard 200.

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Hey, it’s a sellout!
Hey!Let me welcome you, ladies and gentlemen
I would like to say hello
Are you ready for some entertainment? Are you ready for a show?
Gonna rock, gonna roll you, get you dancing in the aisles
Jazz you, razzamatazz you with a little bit of styleC’mon, let me entertain you
Let me entertain you
Let me entertain you
Let me entertain youI’ve come here to sell you my body
I can show you some good merchandise
I’ll pull you, and I’ll pill you, I’ll Cruella DeVille you
And to thrill you, I’ll use any deviceWe’ll give you crazy performance
We’ll give you grounds for divorce
We’ll give you piece de resistance
And a tour de force (of course)We found the right location
Got a lot of pretty lights
The sound and amplification, listen, hey!
If you need a fix, if you want a high, Stickells’ll see to that
With Elektra and EMI, we’ll show you where it’s atSo c’mon, let me entertain you
Let me entertain you
Let me entertain you
Let me entertain youJust take a look at the menu
We give you rock a la carte
We’ll breakfast at Tiffany’s
We’ll sing to you in Japanese
We’re only here to entertain youIf you wanna see some action, you get nothing but the best
The S and M attraction, we’ve got the pleasure chest
Chicago down to New Orleans, we get you on the line
If you dig the New York scene
We’ll have a son-of-a-bitch-of-a-timeCome on, let me entertain
Let me entertain
Let me entertain you
Through the nightSource: Musixmatch

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Then the same year I fell in love with the Lloyd Webber/Rice music for Evita. Circus and Show in title and lyrics

“Oh What a Circus” is a song from the 1976 musical Evita, which had lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was recorded by English singer David Essex and released as a single on August 19, 1978, by Mercury Records. Essex played the character of Che in the original London production of the musical, and the song is sung from his point-of-view. Produced and arranged by Mike Batt, “Oh What a Circus” is a mid-tempo song, comparing the musical’s title character Eva Perón‘s life with a circus, and calling her actions fraudulent. The song is a contrafactum, and shares its tune with the better known “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from the same show.

“Oh What a Circus” was a commercial success for Essex, who had been dropped by his previous record company due to his declining sales. The song reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and the top-30 in Belgium and Netherlands. In subsequent productions of the musical, “Oh What a Circus” has been sung by numerous performers, including Mandy Patinkin, Ricky Martin and Scottish rock musician Marti Pellow. In the 1996 film adaptation of the show, the song was sung by Antonio Banderas and American singer Madonna, and received critical appreciation for its flamenco-infused composition.

“Oh What a Circus” was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they were developing the Evita as a musical in between 1974 and 1976. Rice was extremely intrigued by the stories surrounding the life of Eva Perón while researching her during the mid-1970s. The duo were also on the lookout for various actors to play the part of the narrator for Evita.

In the meantime, English singer David Essex had completed his work on Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, and was interested in theatrical productions. He received a call from Rice and Webber, and immediately accepted the part.

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There is so much to information on the film version of Evita you can read it all here.

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 going to see 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 piaYou 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 deliverSalve 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 piaSource: Musixmatch

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Now for a bonus track :Brittany Spears Circus. Circus in title and lyrics also Circus, Show and Entertain in Lyrics.

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“Circus” is a song by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on December 2, 2008, through Jive Records as the second single from her sixth studio album of the same name (2008). Written by Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly and Benny Blanco, “Circus” is a metaphor for the public’s perception of Spears’ life. After she listened to the track for the first time, she felt inspired to create an album and a tour with a circus theme. “Circus” is an uptempo electropop and dance-pop song with elements of pop rock and “half-rapped” vocals. The song’s lyrics talk about being an entertainer and putting on shows.

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There’s only two types of people in the world
The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe
Well, baby, I’m a put-on-a-show kind of girl
Don’t like the back seat, gotta be first (oh-oh)
I’m like the ring leader, I call the shots (call the shots)
I’m like a firecracker, I make it hotWhen I put on a show
I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins
Spotlight on me and I’m ready to break
I’m like a performer, the dance floor is my stage
Better be ready, hope that you feel the sameAll eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus
When I crack that whip everybody gon’ trip just like a circus
Don’t stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do
Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor just like a circusThere’s only two types of guys out there
Ones that can hang with me and ones that are scared
So, baby, I hope that you came prepared
I run a tight ship, so beware
I’m like the ring leader, I call the shots (call the shots)
I’m like a firecracker, I make it hotWhen I put on a show
I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins
Spotlight on me and I’m ready to break
I’m like a performer, the dance floor is my stage
Better be ready, hope that you feel the sameAll eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus
When I crack that whip everybody gon’ trip just like a circus
Don’t stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do
Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor just like a circusLet’s go
Let me see what you can do
I’m runnin’ this (like-like-like-like a circus)
Yeah, like a what? (Like-like-like-like a circus)All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus
When I crack that whip everybody gon’ trip just like a circus
Don’t stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do
Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor just like a circusAll eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus
When I crack that whip everybody gon’ trip just like a circus
Don’t stand there watching me, follow me, show me what you can do
Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor just like a circusSource: Musixmatch.

Happy Sunday and New Year Everyone.💜💜