#
From: davies@ils.nwu.edu (Brian Davies)
~Subject: Re: REQ: Circus Left Town (Clapton Unplugged)

>I was also interested in Circus Left Town, but it is not available in
>Slowhand or Nevada. I just checked again Slowhand and still nothing. Has
>EC even released this song at all on an album? Because of the personal
>sentiment in this song I get the feeling he wants to keep it to himself. I
>am digressing here to ask why did he not put this song from the Unplugged
>video on the album of the same name?

No, it hasn't been released on an album; I don't even think that MTV
broadcast the whole thing.  I know he played it in concert for a good
while after the Unplugged session, so it doesn't seem like he is trying
to keep it to himself.

I'm really not sure why some tracks made it onto Unplugged and others
didn't.  He also played My Father's Eyes, another beautiful track about
his son, and the Maceo Merriweather song, Worried Life Blues.  There are
a good number of bootlegs of the remaining material, including alternative
takes of about half of Unplugged.  Based on the feedback from the folks
on the Slowhand list and the reports in "Where's Eric", a British fanzine,
the best one seems to be An Accoustic Tale.

>If you have seen it in the net somewhere else, could you post another
>reply to the group saying where. The Jesse Gress transcription book does
>not contain it either. Have you seen it in another book? Say hi to Yoda
>for me.
>
>Brett

Somebody posted this on one of the guitar newsgroups, I think.  I've
reformatted it a little bit and deleted the header (so much for giving
credit where credit is due :( ), but this is the important stuff.


--------------------


  THE CIRCUS LEFT TOWN  by Eric Clapton


(Amaj7 = x06650, Amaj7 [2] = x02120, C#m7 = x46454, Cdim = x3424x
has F#7 listed as 464544 = G#7)

[Amaj7] Little man with his [B/A] eyes on fire [Cdim]
And his smile so [C#m7] bright [B7]
[Amaj7] In his hands are the [B/A] toys you gave [Cdim]
That fill his heart with de[C#m7]light [B7]
[Amaj7] In a ring stands a [B/A] circus clown [Cdim]
Holding up a [C#m7] light [B7]
[Amaj7] What you see and [B/A] what you hear [Cdim]
Will last you the rest of your [C#m7] life [B7]

[Amaj7[2]] It's sad, so sad [B7]
[Cdim] There aint no easy way [C#m7] round [B7]
[Amaj7[2]] It's sad, so sad [F#7]
[Bmin7] All your friends gather [Amaj7] round
'Cause the [Dmaj7] circus left town [Amaj7]

Little man with his heart so pure
And his love so fine
Stick with me and I'll ride with you
Till the end of the line
Hold my hand and I'll walk with you
Through the darkest night
When I smile I'll be thinking of you
And everything will be alright



The picking technique is 4 bar repeating cycle which for the most part
concentrates on the middle 4 strings, except when playing F#7. Each
vertical line represents one bar, each bar has 2 beats which are clearly
marked by the thumb and middle finger. The index finger only appears on
half beats.

Key:    t = thumb
        i = index finger
        m = middle finger

        e |----|----|----|----|
        B |--m-|--m-|--m-|--m-|
        G |----|-i--|---i|-i--| Use this configuration for all chords except.
        D |--t-|--t-|--t-|--t-| the F#7 chord.
        A |t---|t---|t---|t---|
        E |----|----|----|----|


        e |----|----|----|----|
        B |--m-|--m-|--m-|--m-|
        G |----|-i--|---i|-i--| Use the configuration for the F#7 chord.
        D |--t-|--t-|--t-|--t-|
        A |----|----|----|----|
        E |t---|t---|t---|t---|

**************************************************************************
* Brian Davies                         Never his mind on where he was.   *
* Institute For The Learning Sciences  Hmph.  What he was doing.  Hmph!  *
* 1890 Maple Avenue                                        - Yoda        *
* Evanston, IL 60201                                                     *
**************************************************************************