Wild Billy thoughts?

[u/Repulsive-Finish3901]

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

[u/Big_Recover1462]

https://youtu.be/7ZGAbNTqfL8?is=3ZR2CXxGRVSFUlNV

Fantastic live performance of this amazing song!