r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Repulsive-Finish3901 • 2d 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/Correct-Ad8693 2d ago
I have a playlist that’s just two songs for when I’m in some kind of mood: Wild Billy’s Circus Story and The Last Carnival.
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u/EManSantaFe 2d ago
Gary played the tuba. I believe the notes are the same ones as the bass. I’ve gone to shows when it was onstage but I never saw him play it.
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u/No_Nukes_2 8h ago
I saw this in the early eighties. I remember the stage hands putting the walking tuba over Gary's head for jism ri eplay the tuba part
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u/SaulTNNutz 2d ago
Ive always found that song to be somewhat sinister, especially in the final lyrics. It definitely reminds me of something that Tom Waits would create. Bruce's vocal delivery is raspy and dark.
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u/Repulsive-Finish3901 2d ago
I can definitely see that, it's kinda like a real circus or zoo where it feels like there's a thin layer of grime over everything. Like everyone's trying to believe in the grand vision of entertainment presented before them, but there's an underlying, unshakable sadness deep within.
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u/Maine302 2d ago
I'd love to hear about the production of that album--it's quite a masterpiece for a 23-year old guy.
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u/intestinal_turmoil Sherry's Mom 2d 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 2d 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.1
u/intestinal_turmoil Sherry's Mom 2d 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.
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u/MagicRat7913 2d ago
I think "They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the wind" is Bruce reaching for Thunder Road before he was ready, it's practically the same line delivery as "When you get to the porch they're gone on the wind".
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u/cutoutwitch666 2d ago
I really love the lyrics but sometimes the amount of tuba gets in the way of me enjoying it as much I want to :')
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u/sheshops12 2d ago
I was 2 when Bruce released it, and my parents were already fans of his—had seen him a bunch at local bars here in NJ. That album, but particularly THAT song, created such a solid image in my head as I listened to it on vinyl throughout my childhood. It ignited my imagination in a profound way.
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u/HobokenJ 2d ago
I love, love LOVE "Wild Billy." And I've always felt like an outlier lol. It's good to know there are others out there who think the song is utterly charming.
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u/Ok_Investigator6185 2d ago
Alot of the songs in his early career have a tinge or more of sadness, depression, moments of resignation of the way things will be judging by his lyrics and his singing. I think it is very unique. If you like t check out other songs that were unreleased around this time.
Piano version of Janet needs a shooter Baby doll Song for orphans Randolph street Family song
Released-The Angel-great song
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u/MateyRocks 2d ago
It's my least favorite song from my favorite album sessions (including outtakes). I still love it.
It is a song rooted in those 1972 acoustic songs where the focus was on lyrics piled on lyrics where melody and structure were less of a concern. That being said, it is far more developed and arranged than those 72 songs and therefore more interesting and enjoyable for me than like "Lady and the Doctor" and "Arabian Nights." Specifically the instrumentation that comes and goes with good effect.
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u/EStreet_ Born to Run 2d ago
Definitely one of my fav Bruce tunes, it just captures your imagination so well. It’s a little vignette!
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u/Big_Recover1462 2d ago
https://youtu.be/7ZGAbNTqfL8?is=3ZR2CXxGRVSFUlNV
Fantastic live performance of this amazing song!
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u/Desertmarkr 2d ago
Clearly circuses and carnivals had some impact on Bruce. Tunnel of love has that imagery and the last song played over loudspeakers before they came on stage was Palisades Park by Freddy Cannon.
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u/CulturalWind357 Garden State Serenade 2d ago
I usually have to balance multiple thoughts when talking about Bruce's early work.
On the one hand, I appreciate how he evolved and carved out his own unique blue-collar voice with the Big Five albums from BTR to BITUSA. I'm not sure he could have done that with his early work.
That being said, the musical style and lyrical approach of his early albums have a lot of charm and uniqueness, very localized and couldn't have come anywhere except Asbury Park New Jersey. It's very much a carnival atmosphere full of outcasts. You have these strange character portraits where you don't quite know if they're fantasy characters or real life characters.
Some more background on Bruce's early career and that atmosphere: Backstage With Bruce: Springsteen On His Early Work
People don't like "The Angel" but I also think it's this very strange but compelling portrait. I see Wild Billy in a similar vein to his Greetings work and his early acoustic work.
On a broader level, I think Bruce struggled with those boundaries in not quite fitting in either with the blue-collar life nor with the outcast life. He didn't want to live the outcast life forever but it nevertheless shaped him.
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u/HederianZ 1d ago
So many incredible lyrics and imagery in the song. I’ve always felt it was underrated. And especially for a young 20-something to write, really impressive.
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u/TallClassic 1d ago
Such a great song, and he does a version in Australia in 2014 I think, where he calls out the Professor, and says something like "Professor, I think this is your line," and they replay the line so he can get it right, it is just a delightful live version of it.
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u/SeverinGomboc 2d ago
Underrated song. Great Lyrics, great music and production. The whole Album is an underrated masteroiece.