Hartfordtown 1944 Lyrics - Mark Erelli

It was a dry and dusty summer day 

When that wagon train pulled in 

Just three hours 'til the matinee 

Was scheduled to begin 

As the razorbacks unloaded the flats 

A crowd did gather to see 

The elephants tow the wagons back 

To that empty lot on Barbour Street 

And the canvasmen they dug right in 

'Til on that spot where nothing had been 

You could see the bigtop from miles around 

When the circus came to Hartfordtown 

The circus it was front page news 

Back in Nineteen Forty-Four 

Everyone was grateful for any excuse 

To forget about the war 

The sun beat down on the menagerie 

In the cages the animals paced 

There was orangeade and cotton candy 

And a smile on every kid's face 

Each mother and father, each boy and girl 

They couldn't wait to see the greatest show in the world 

You could barely hear the orchestra, they cheered so loud 

When the circus came to Hartfordtown 

There were polar bears and panther cats 

With great big fangs and claws 

And the lions did a balancing act 

To jubilant applause 

Then a spotlight played on a platform set 

So high up in the air 

That everybody held their breath 

And they prayed a silent prayer 

All eyes were glued to the man on the wire 

So nobody knew when the tent caught fire 

Too slowly it dawned on the sold-out crowd 

When the circus came to Hartfordtown The fire drew air and began to climb 

The audience jumped from their seats 

There was a stampede for the exit sign 

And some fainted from the heat 

There were heroes who did their best to help 

The children escape the flames 

And the others who managed to save themselves 

They survived but were never the same 

And some still remember how the animals cried 

But there weren't any animals inside 

Over 100 people trapped as the tent burned down 

When the circus came to Hartfordtown 

As a boy I lived on Barbour Street 

Four blocks from that circus show 

And I begged my parents, I got down on my knees 

But they would not let me go 

For they had grounded me, two weeks straight 

Now I can't even remember why 

But I know the first time I ever prayed 

Was when I saw that black smoke in the sky 

And the war it was over in a year I guess 

But the people in my town didn't cheer like the rest 

It still breaks our hearts to remember now