Yes, I’m a clown but I don’t wanna be/
Why can’tcha see the other side of me?

“Everybody Loves a Clown” was Gary Lewis & The Playboys’ big hit that debuted in 1965. It is a fantastic song, with a lot more depth than it is given credit for.

We first notice the upbeat tempo and major chord progression that typically signifies a ‘happy song’. In a sense it is. Lewis is keeping the tempo upbeat because he is playing the clown, and clowns don’t let others know that they are down. However, when we read the meaning of the lyrics, we can see that this is a man with a troubled heart, Just like a clown–to appear happy when deep down they are miserable.

The narrator desperately seeks the attention of a specific girl, but he only knows one way to charm people: by being a clown. That usually works well for him. He makes a lot of friends this way, but do women want to open up to a clown? At least initially, this girl doesn’t seem responsive.

Lewis implores the heavens to let this woman see that being a clown is only one side of him, and if she would just look deeper, and get to know him, she will see the real person behind the clown. Until then he doesn’t know what else to do but continue to joke around to guard his broken heart. He’s a bit lost.

Part of the reason the song gets overlooked is that it was a pop song written in the mid-60s: rock and folk had made such a huge leap during those years that pop music feels like a different art form. It feels left behind. Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones and The Beach Boys were writing a great album a year. Music was changing fast.

But if we look closer, we can see the greatness of “Everybody Loves a Clown”. Songs with similar themes are Tracks of My Tears—which was written about the same time–and Clown, by Emile Sande.

Everybody Loves a Clown Lyrics

Everybody loves a clown, so why don’t you?
Everybody laughs at the things I say and do.
They all laugh when they see me comin’,
But you don’t laugh, you just go home runnin’.
Everybody loves a clown, so why can’t you?
A clown has feelings, too.

I joke around at a party when you are there.
But you don’t laugh, you don’t look, you just don’t care.
If you wonder why this clown is cryin’,
Look a little closer, inside I’m dyin’.
It’s not easy to be in love, you see,
When you’re a clown like me’.

I don’t know how to say that I love you.
‘Cause you would smile and say “Tell a joke or two”.
Yes, I’m a clown but I don’t wanna be,
Why can’tcha see the other side of me?
Guess I’ll be the guy who plays the part,
Of a clown with a broken heart.

Dreamin’ of your love and not knowing where to start,
Dreamin’ of your love and not knowin’ where to start.

Songwriters: L. Russell / G. Lewis / T. Lesslie

Oh say/
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you…

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” is a song about a couple that is separating–it seems the woman is leaving town due to work obligations. The couples’ love is new. They are in that in-between stage: where they are not ready to commit to each other long-term, but not ready to just dismiss each-other as a fling. This parting will bring the narrator great pain: She has fallen for him.

She wants him to ask her to stay so that she can answer “yes”, and they can be together. Or perhaps he could come along. But, for whatever reason, these simple solutions do not appear to be options to her—though they seem obvious to us. Could they not have an adult conversation about the future? She already knows she want to be with him.

Perhaps they are young. Perhaps she is afraid of rejection. Perhaps they have had the conversation, and she feels stronger about him than he does about her. We don’t know.

The most interesting lyric is the one featured above, where the narrator explains that she wishes her lover to say, “Wait, they don’t love you like I love you”. This seems to be implying that the professional obligation could be a music tour and the song is autobiographical. This adds a level of intrigue to the song. Songs that are personal and describe experiences unique to that person tend to connect more emotionally with the audience.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have a unique sound because they are not a traditional “three-piece rock band”. In a traditional three-piece band, you have a guitar player, a bass player and a drummer. (Think Green Day, The James Gang, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Police, Cream, Nirvana, etc.)

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have Karen O on vocals, a guitarist and drummer. So, their sound is a little thinner (the studio version adds a bass in the chorus). They are more of a two-piece band. Also, Karen’s voice is extremely unique and she delivers a memorable, emotional vocal.

Maps Lyrics

Pack up,
I’m straight.
Enough.

Oh say, say, say.
Oh say, say, say.
Oh say, say, say.
Oh say, say, say.
Oh say, say, say.

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Maps,
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.

Made off,
Don’t stray.
Well, my kind’s your kind.
I’ll stay the same.
Pack up,
Don’t stray.

Oh say, say, say.
Oh say, say, say.

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Maps,
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Maps,
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Maps,
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.

Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
Maps,
Wait, they don’t love you like I love you.

Songwriters: Brian Chase / Karen Lee Orzolek / Nicholas Joseph Zinner

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you/
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do.

Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games” is a song about desire, longing and unrequited love. But what exactly is this “Wicked Game” Isaac speaks about? Well, a beautiful woman makes him fall in love with her- though “lust” is probably a better word for it. She toys with his emotions because she “played” him, told him sweet nothings and “made him” dream of her. She is clearly toying with him! You can hear the aching in his voice. That’s the game.

What makes this a great song? One is the instrumentation and production. Listen to the lead guitar in the intro: The first slide-note is iconic and sets the tone for the rest of the song; it feels mopey and longing. It leads into the great finger-picking.

The second is Isaac’s voice is unique and-on brand and expresses his longing. As with Only The Lonely by The Motels we see a great example of a singer using his/her voice to express the emotion conveyed by the words in the lyrics. With the Motels it was loneliness, with Isaac it is longing.

And the video! So sexy.

Wicked Games Lyrics

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you

No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)

What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you

And I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you

The world was on fire and no one could save me but you
It’s strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d love somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you

No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
No, I don’t wanna fall in love (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)
With you (this world is only gonna break your heart)

No, I (this world is only gonna break your heart)
(This world is only gonna break your heart)
Nobody loves no one

Songwriters: Chris Isaak