From Wikipedia:
Send in the Clowns is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the 1973 musical,
A Little Night Music. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life.
As I think of it now, the song could have been called ‘Send in the Fools.’ I knew I was writing a song in which Desirée is saying, ‘aren’t we foolish’ or ‘aren’t we fools’? Well, a synonym for fools is clowns, but ‘Send in the Fools’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.
A Little Night Music. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life.
The “clowns” in the title do not refer to circus clowns.
Instead, they symbolize fools.
Stephen Sondheim explains:
Instead, they symbolize fools.
Stephen Sondheim explains:
I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she’s an actress, but it’s not supposed to be a ‘circus’…. It’s a theater reference meaning ‘if the show isn’t going well, let’s send in the clowns’; in other words, ‘let’s do the jokes.’ I always want to know, when I’m writing a song, what the end is going to be, so ‘Send in the Clowns’ didn’t settle in until I got the notion, ‘Don’t bother, they’re here’ which means that ‘We are the fools.’
As I think of it now, the song could have been called ‘Send in the Fools.’ I knew I was writing a song in which Desirée is saying, ‘aren’t we foolish’ or ‘aren’t we fools’? Well, a synonym for fools is clowns, but ‘Send in the Fools’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.
‘Send in the Clowns’ was never meant to be a soaring ballad; it’s a song of regret. And it’s a song of a lady who is too upset and too angry to speak. She is furious, but she doesn’t want to make a scene in front of Fredrik because she recognizes that his obsession with his 18-year-old wife is unbreakable. So she gives up; so it’s a song of regret and anger, and therefore fits in with short-breathed phrases.