Jack Johnson – Rodeo Clowns

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Sweeping the floors
Open up the doors
Turn on the lights
Gettin ready for tonight
Nobody's romancing
'Cause it's too early for dancing
But here comes the music

Bright lights flashing
To cover up your lack of
Soul many people so many problems
So many reasons to buy another round
Drink it down
Just another night on the town
With the big man Money man
Better than the other man
He got the plan with the million dollars
Give a damn but
When nobody understands
He'll become a smaller man
The bright lights keep flashing
Man the women keep dancing

With the clowns, yeah, yeah, yeah
Pick me up when I'm down yeah, yeah
Rodeo Clowns, yeah, yeah, yeah
Pick me up when I'm down

The disco ball spinning
All the music and the women
All the shots of tequila
Man they'll say that they need ya
But what they really need
Is just a little room to breathe
Tiny bopping dicso queen
She barely understands her dreams
Of belly button rings
And other kinds of things
Symbolic of change
But the thing that is strange
Is that changes occured

And now she's just part of the herd yeah, yeah, yeah
Man I thought that you heard yeah, yeah
The changes occured yeah, yeah, yeah
She's just a part of the herd yeah,yeah

Lights out shut down
Late night wet ground
You walk by look at him
But he can't look at you
you might feel pity
But he only feels the ground because
You understand moods
But he only knows let down
By the corner there's another one
Reaching out a hand
Coming from a broken man
Well you try to live
But he's done trying
Not dead but definitely dying

With the rest of the clowns yeah, yeah, yeah
Pick me up when I'm down yeah, yeah
Rodeo Clowns yeah, yeah, yeah
Pick me up when I'm down

Sweeping the floors
Open up the doors
Turn on the lights
Gettin ready for tonight
Nobody's romancing
'Cause it's too early for dancing
But here comes the music

written by Jack Johnson for G. Love and Special Sauce, recorded on 'Philadelphonic'

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Lyrics submitted by acheapairline

Track duration: 02:37


Rodeo Clowns song meanings
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41 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:LiveURLife...sorry I just found this site so you'll probably never read this, but...G. Love IS G. Love. Jack Johnson was never the "lead singer" of G. Love and the Special Sauce. He was introduced on this song by G. Love. G. Love is Garrett Dutton III. Sorry, that was bothering me.
    Flag Garret Dutton IVon September 10, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I like this song and Jack Johnson, but I reckon the coolest thing about this song is that Kelly Slater named a trick after this song as he is good friends with Jack,
    Flag surfnuton August 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about a simple observation. I'm sure Jack has gone to clubs and danced and had a few cocktails before. I just think it simply means that these days, there are just too many people going out and partying away to get run from their problems when all their really doing cutting their wrists which takes the problems away, but only for a little while. And people have become so addicted to the night life and booze that they've forgotten what its like to live with their problems rather than temporarily forget about it.

    I dont think its about fitting in at all. I, myself go out with some friends and have a few cocktails and socialize just to release some stress that Ive gathered throughout my whole week. But I don't make it a reason to go out every night or more than once a week. It would simply be silly and a distraction (hence the word Rodeo Clown).
    Flag whereamion May 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this reminds me of the celibate life a bit. partiers who don't have any real relationships and just do it all to fit in. jack is most definitley the man. favorite part:

    The disco ball spinning
    All the music and the women
    All the shots of tequila
    Man they'll say that they need ya
    But what they really need
    Is just a little room to breathe
    Flag annaSon March 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I Feel all Of Ya'll
    I Love Jack J and Ever since I first heard his music last summer, I have enjoyed every minute of it.
    Clowns Are Usually happy things but this song is the opposite of that
    Clowns make me laugh
    Flag JJ Fanon February 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its about being surounded by ppl u dnt like particuarly n them pretendin they like u, cos they all pretend, cos they just wana fit it, n in the end it just amuses u how fake every1 is
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Flag princess*delilahon October 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:He can get away with it because he is right about stuff like that. And I'm sure he knows not every woman or man is like cattle or superficial asses. ^0^

    'Bright lights flashing
    To cover up your lack of
    Soul many people so many problems
    So many reasons to buy another round
    Drink it down
    Just another night on the town'

    I like this part because he means that by drinking, partying and who knows what we try to put our problems away and by living those shallow lifes we seem soulless.
    Flag Funk-chanon June 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:aside from the whole issue of who wrote the song and who's better perfomring it and blah blah blah, i feel like this is more than just a song about goin' to a club and having a good time...i think jack is tryin to make a social statement (no way not jack johnson...) by comparing men at these clubs to rodeo clowns and women to the cattle that they're trying to round up and tame. within the stanzas surrounding the chorus j.j. describes what he sees at the club and almost finds it amusing, like he does many of societies shortcomings. i think it's obvious through the chorus especially "the women keep on dancing with the clowns yea yea, the rodeo clowns..." and the part about the naive "teeny boppin' disco queen" that he is using the metaphor b/w men and rodeo clowns and women and cattle - the only man i know that can get away with making such an analogy of females
    Flag theflow754on May 31, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"She barely understands her dreams
    Of belly button rings
    And other kinds of things
    Symbolic of change
    But the thing that is strange
    Is that changes occured
    And now she's just part of the herd yeah"

    Haha!
    Isn't that the truth!!!
    Flag MonkeysLoveBananason May 12, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:does no one read the top right under the lyrics?
    Flag mongoosestalkeron February 05, 2006   Link

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