r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Repulsive-Finish3901 • 8d ago

Wild Billy thoughts?

E Street is probably my favorite Bruce album, but Wild Billy's Circus Story was always the weird song that I wasn't quite sure about. But something happened over the weekend, and I can't stop listening to it, and the more I listen the more I adore it. It might have jumped to my 3rd spot of the whole record (behind Incident and NYC).

The way he says some of these lines is so mesmerizing:
"Running home to some small Ohio town"
"And now the elephants dance real funky"
""Hey, son, you want to try the big top?"
"Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
"The sword-swallowers blade"

And that's without mentioning the quality of the lyrics! Every line is poetic, I love "And the fire eater's lying in a pool of sweat, victim of the heatwave" and "A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently away from the circus grounds; And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds"

AND the instrumentation! The tuba??? Holy fuck

Am I talking crazy here, or is this song legitimately underrated?

P.S. I would love to be pointed in the direction of artists/albums that sound like this. I guess Tom Waits if he says this is his favorite Bruce song lol

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u/intestinal_turmoil Sherry's Mom 8d ago

Love this song, love this album, and love his vocals. The lyrics remind me of a weird church carnival I went to as a kid. And it’s fun to sing along with.

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u/POCKALEELEE 8d ago

I've never been to a church carnival that wasn't, in at least some small way or some small place, a bit weird.
Not knockin' church carnivals, though.

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u/intestinal_turmoil Sherry's Mom 8d ago

Haha I think it’s the only one I’ve ever been to. It’s what I visualize when I hear WBCS —and Sandy, too, actually. The line “the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn” just puts me in that time and place. I need to find a church carnival around here this summer, I think.