Hartfordtown 1944

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[Verse 1]
                       F      C
It was a dry and dusty summer day
                             G
When that wagon train pulled in
     C                    F   C
Just three hours 'til the matinee
              G    C
Was scheduled to begin
                    F          C
As the razorbacks unloaded the flats
                      G
A crowd did gather to see
    C                 F      C
The elephants tow the wagons back
                     G       C
To that empty lot on Barbour Street


[Verse 2]
        Am     F        C         G
And the canvas-men they dug right in
     Am      F          C           G
'Til on that spot where nothing had been
          C                    F      C
You could see the big-top from miles around
                        G       C
When the circus came to Hartfordtown


[Verse 3]
                  F          C
The circus it was front page news
                       G
Back in Nineteen Forty-Four
C                         F     C
Everyone was grateful for any excuse
           G        C
To forget about the war
                           F   C
The sun beat down on the menagerie
                         G
In the cages the animals paced
          C             F         C
There was orangeade and cotton candy
               G           C
And a smile on every kid’s face


[Verse 4]
     Am         F            C       G
Each mother and father, each boy and girl
     Am               F                C           G
They couldn't wait to see the greatest show in the world
          C                               F          C
You could barely hear the orchestra, they cheered so loud
                        G       C
When the circus came to Hartfordtown


[Verse 5]
                           F       C
There were polar bears and panther cats
                         G
With great big fangs and claws
        C           F         C
And the lions did a balancing act
       G      C
To jubilant applause
                             F        C
Then a spotlight played on a platform set
                  G
So high up in the air
     C         F          C
That everybody held their breath
                  G      C
And they prayed a silent prayer


[Verse 6]
    Am        F            C          G
All eyes were glued to the man on the wire
   Am     F             C           G
So nobody knew when the tent caught fire
    C                       F        C
Too slowly it dawned on the sold-out crowd
                        G       C
When the circus came to Hartfordtown


[Verse 7]
                        F      C
The fire drew air and began to climb
                               G
The audience jumped from their seats
            C                F    C
There was a stampede for the exit sign
                 G        C
And some fainted from the heat
                                F       C
There were heroes who did their best to help
                        G
The children escape the flames
        C                     F        C
And the others who managed to save themselves
                       G         C
They survived but were never the same


[Verse 8]
    Am           F              C       G
And some still remember how the animals cried
          Am      F   C         G
But there weren't any animals inside
     C                         F           C
Over 100 people trapped as the tent burned down
                        G       C
When the circus came to Hartfordtown


[Verse 9]
                    F       C
As a boy I lived on Barbour Street
                             G
Four blocks from that circus show
      C                        F          C
And I begged my parents, I got down on my knees
                   G      C
But they would not let me go
             C            F         C
For they had grounded me, two weeks straight
                          G
Now I can’t even remember why
      C                     F    C
But I know the first time I ever prayed
                          G            C
Was when I saw that black smoke in the sky


[Verse 10]
        Am         F         C       G
And the war it was over in a year, I guess
        Am           F           C              G
But the people in my town didn’t cheer like the rest
         C                      F      C
It still breaks our hearts to remember now
                        G       C
When the circus came to Hartfordtown