It was a dry and dusty summer day
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When that wagon train pulled in
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Just three hours 'til the matinee
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Was scheduled to begin
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As the razorbacks unloaded the flats
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A crowd did gather to see
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The elephants tow the wagons back
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To that empty lot on Barbour Street
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And the canvasmen they dug right in
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'Til on that spot where nothing had been
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You could see the bigtop from miles around
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When the circus came to Hartfordtown
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The circus it was front page news
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Back in Nineteen Forty-Four
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Everyone was grateful for any excuse
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To forget about the war
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The sun beat down on the menagerie
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In the cages the animals paced
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There was orangeade and cotton candy
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And a smile on every kid’s face
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Each mother and father, each boy and girl
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They couldn't wait to see the greatest show in the world
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You could barely hear the orchestra, they cheered so loud
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When the circus came to Hartfordtown
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There were polar bears and panther cats
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With great big fangs and claws
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And the lions did a balancing act
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To jubilant applause
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Then a spotlight played on a platform set
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So high up in the air
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That everybody held their breath
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And they prayed a silent prayer
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All eyes were glued to the man on the wire
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So nobody knew when the tent caught fire
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Too slowly it dawned on the sold-out crowd
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When the circus came to Hartfordtown The fire drew air and began to climb
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The audience jumped from their seats
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There was a stampede for the exit sign
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And some fainted from the heat
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There were heroes who did their best to help
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The children escape the flames
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And the others who managed to save themselves
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They survived but were never the same
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And some still remember how the animals cried
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But there weren't any animals inside
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Over 100 people trapped as the tent burned down
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When the circus came to Hartfordtown
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As a boy I lived on Barbour Street
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Four blocks from that circus show
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And I begged my parents, I got down on my knees
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But they would not let me go
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For they had grounded me, two weeks straight
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Now I can’t even remember why
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But I know the first time I ever prayed
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Was when I saw that black smoke in the sky
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And the war it was over in a year I guess
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But the people in my town didn’t cheer like the rest
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It still breaks our hearts to remember now
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Hartfordtown 1944
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| Mark Erelli |
