Pagliacci

That Smokey Robinson song, Tears of a Clown, has been in my
head all week, since my post on clowns. Did you notice in the lyrics
he mentions Pagliacci? Pagliacci, meaning "clowns", is an opera
consisting of a prologue and two acts, written and composed by
Ruggero Leoncavallo. It portrays the tragedy of a jealous husband
in a commedia dell'arte troupe. The opera premiered in 1892 and it
is the only one of Leoncavallo's operas that is still widely staged
today.

Smokey Robinson isn't the only one who mentions Pagliacci in his
lyrics. Billie Holiday sang a song entitled The Masquerade is Over
which included the lyrics, "I guess I'll have to play Pagliacci and get
myself a clown's disguise / And learn to laugh like Pagliacci with
tears in my eyes." The 1954 song Mr. Sandman contains the line,
"Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci, and lots of wavy hair like
Liberace."

And do you remember "The Opera", a hilarious episode of Seinfeld,
that featured a spoof of Pagliacci, wherein the major characters
attend a performance of the opera while "Crazy" Joe Davola
disguises himself as Pagliaccio the clown to seek a tragic revenge?
Too funny.

I'm including a clip below of the legendary Pavarotti singing the
famous aria from Pagliacci, "Vesti la giubba", which means "Put on
the cosume". The aria is at the conclusion of the first act, when
Canio discovers his wife's infidelity, but must nevertheless prepare
for his performance as Pagliaccio the clown, because "the show must
go on". The scene is so powerfully poignant as Pavarotti applies
the white makeup to his face at the end of the aria. "Vesti la giubba"
is often regarded as one of the most moving in operatic repertoire.
And one more little tidbit of info; the 1904 recording by Enrico
Caruso was the first million selling record in history.

Here's the English translation:

To act! While out of my mind,
I no longer know what I say,
or what I do!
And yet it's necessary... make an effort!
Bah! Are you not a man?
You are Pagliaccio!

Put on your costume,
powder your face.
The people pay to be here, and they want to laugh.
And if Harlequin shall steal your Columbine,
laugh, Pagliaccio, so the crowd will cheer!
Turn your distress and tears into jest,
your pain and sobbing into a funny face - Ah!

Laugh, Pagliaccio,
at your broken love!
Laugh at the grief that poisons your heart!


I'll have to make an exception. This is one clown I happen to adore.

why I don't like clowns

I wouldn't say I have coulrophobia, the abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns, but I have a strong dislike for them. Ronald McDonald, Bozo and Krusty have never been, let's say, entertaining. The same goes for mimes. I realize Marcel Marceau was a talented artist, but mimes, to me, are smack dab in the clown catagory, with Bozo. I'm sure it's the painted face thing, and here's why.

My clown aversion began many years ago when this particular "paint by number" picture (shown above) hung in my bedroom as a little girl. Remember this craze from the 1950s? I could never understand this mindless pastime, or jigsaw puzzles, for that matter. But everyone seemed to enjoy it, especially my mother.

Anyway, this creepy clown painting was even scarier at night. In the dark, it would silently morph into a sinister version of my mother; the same short, wispy haircut, eyebrows and even dark red lipstick she always wore. Okay, well, not the cigar. But, she did have white gloves and a red hat.

Those little beady clown eyes would follow me around. No matter where I would hide, under the covers or not, that clown would be staring at me. You know the old saying, "mothers have eyes in the back of their heads"? Well, this clown had those same psychic eyes, only worse.

I hated that picture, and it's safe to say, it's most likely the reason I don't care much for clowns today. But, I must not be the only one, because evil clown characters are some of the most frightening in fiction and film. Here's just a few examples:

The Joker, Batman
Pennywise, Stephen King's It
Konrad Beezo, Life Expectancy
Doink the Clown, WWF
Killer Klowns from Outer Space, 1988
Jack the Clown, Universal Studios Horror Nights
National Lampoon's French the Clown
The Clown, Star Trek
Gurdy the Clown, 100 Tears
Obnoxio the Clown, Marvel Comics
creepy clown doll, Poltergeist
clown costume, film Halloween

turn your volume way up

for a blast from the past!

The Tears of a Clown
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles


Now if there's a smile on my face
it's only there trying to fool the public
but when it comes down to fooling you
now honey that's quite a diff'rent subject.

Don't let my glad expression
give you the wrong impression
really I'm sad
oh sadder than sad;
you're gone and I'm hurting so bad
like a clown I pretend to be glad.

Now there's some sad things known to man
but ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown.
when there's no one around.
just like Pagliacci did
I try to keep my sadness hid;
Smiling in the public eye
but in my lonely room
I cry the tears of a clown
when there's no one around.

Oh yeah baby
now if there's a smile upon my face
don't let my glad expression
give you the wrong impression

don't let the smile I wear
make you think I don't care.
Now if I appear to be carefree
it's only to camouflage my sadness

in order to shield my pride I try
to cover this hurt with a show of gladness
but don't let my show convince you
that I've been happy since you decided to go.

Oh I need you so.
I'm hurt and I want you to know
but for others
I put on a show.
Now there's some...