Bruce Springsteen - Wild Billy's Circus Story: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Wild Billy's Circus Story" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

Learn Wild Billy's Circus Story Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "Wild Billy's Circus Story" smoothly on your guitar.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

        C                 D                    G
The Machinist climbs his ferris wheel like a brave
         C                      D
And the fireeater's lyin' in a pool of
                     G
sweat victim of the heatwave,
            C                   D
Behind the tent the hired hand tightens
                  G                C
his legs on the sword swallowers blade,
                           G
Circus town's on the shortwave

Well the runway lies ahead like a great false dawn
Whoa, fat lady, big mama, Missy Bimbo
sits in her chair and yawns
And the man-beast lies in his cage
sniffing popcorn
As the midget licks his fingers and
suffers Missy Bimbo's scorn
Circus town's been born

             C
Whoa and a press roll drummer go,
ballerina to-and-fro cartwheelin' up on that
      G
tightrope,
           C
With a cannon blast, lightin' flash,
movin' fast through the tent, Mars bent,
            G
He's gonna miss his fall,
                          D
Oh God save the human cannonball.

          C
And the flying Zambini's watch Marguarita do
     G
her neck twist,
             C
And the ringmaster gets the crowd to count along:
        Am  D
95, 96, 97.

          C                               D
A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently
                      Em
away from the circus grounds,
         C                        D
And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds
                   Em                 D
They dance like a great greasepaint ghost on the
 C
wind,
          Bm                    Em             C
A man in baggy pants, a lonely face, a crazy grin,
         G             F         C
Runnin' home to some small Ohio town
Em           G                   D
Jesus, send some sweet women to save all your clowns


     C                        B
And circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire,
         C                      D
And the barker romances with a junkie,
                  G
she's got a flat tire,
            C                     D
And now the elephants dance real funky and
     G                        C
the band plays like a jungle fire,
                      G
Circus town's on the live wire.

          C
And the strong man Sampson lifts the midget,
little Tiny Tim, up on his shoulders, way up
                                     G
And carries carries him on down the midway past
     C              G               C           G
the kids, past the sailors, to his dimly lit trailer
         C                            G
And the ferris wheel turns and turns like it ain't
      Dsus4       D
ever gonna stop,
         Dsus4                              D
And the circus boss leans over and whispers in
                  Dsus4
the little boy's ear,
     C                       G
Hey son you want to try the big top?
      C                     G
All aboard, Nebraska's our next stop.


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

Am

Guitar chord Am

B

Guitar chord B

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Dsus4

Guitar chord Dsus4

Em

Guitar chord Em

F

Guitar chord F

G

Guitar chord G

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "Wild Billy's Circus Story" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Wild Billy's Circus Story" by Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen Song List