Listen to this when
The Tears of a Clown
The funniest person in the room might be the saddest. 🤡
Who it's for
Smokey Robinson's classic is about a man who plays the cheerful clown in public while privately heartbroken.
Smiling, hurting→Allowed to be sad
Feelings it meets
What it is
"The Tears of a Clown" is a song by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles that first appeared on their 1967 album Make It Happen. Stevie Wonder and Hank Cosby wrote the circus-like calliope instrumental, and Smokey Robinson wrote the lyrics and sang lead. The narrator is heartbroken after a woman leaves him and hides his pain behind a cheerful public front, and Robinson compares him to the clowns in the opera Pagliacci.
Where to find it
All major streaming services.
Before you start
Age: All ages
This above all: to thine own self be true,William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3
