Leo Sayer - The Show Must Go On (1973)

Born Gerald Hugh Sayer in Sussex, England, 1948, this artist wrote Roger Daltrey’s first solo hit song in 1973, appeared on The Muppet Show in 1978, and had a string of seven Top 10 hit songs in the beginning of his lengthy career. In 1967, while working at a hotel, he managed to save guests from a fire on the first floor, but then needed rescuing himself from the local fire department. Born to an Irish mother and English father, he moved to Australia in 2005 and became a legal resident in 2009.

Written by Sayer and David Courtney, this song was Sayer’s first hit single, reaching number two in the UK in 1974, the year after its release. His next six singles would also be hits in the top ten. This song also appears on his 1974 full-length album, Silverbird. At the height of the song’s popularity, Sayer dressed as a pierrot clown to reinforce the song’s circus and “difficult choices in life” imagery. The song was covered by Three Dog Night in 1974, and much to Sayer’s displeasure, they changed the last line of the song from “I won’t let the show go on,” to “I must let the show go on.”




Leo Sayer - The Show Must Go On (1973)

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Lyrics:

Baby, although I chose this lonely life
It seems it's strangling me now
All the wild men big cigars gigantic cars
They're all laughing at me now
Oh I've been used- used
I've been a fool, oh, what a fool
I broke all the rules- rules, yeah
But I won’t let the show go on

Baby, there's an enormous crowd of people
And they're all after my blood
I wish maybe they'd tear down the walls of this theater
And let me out- let me out
Oh, I've been so blind, yeah
I've wasted time, wasted, wasted oh so much time
Walking on the wire, high wire, yeah
But I must let the show go on

I've been so blind, oh, yes, I've been so blind
Wasted my time, wasted so much time
Walking on the wire, high wire, yeah
But I won’t let the show go on

Been so blind, oh, yes
Been so blind
Wastin’ my time
Wastin’ so much time
Walkin’ on the water, high wire
But I won’t let the show go on

Baby, I wish you'd help me escape
And help me get away
Leave me outside my address
Far away from this masquerade
I've been so used
I’ve been so abused
I’ve been a fool
I broke all the rules
I’ve been so used, oh
But I won’t let the show go- ah!
No, I won’t let the show- ho!
I won’t let the show go on!