"The Show Must Go On" is a song co-written by Leo Sayer and David Courtney and first recorded by Sayer. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1973, becoming Sayer's first hit record (reaching its chart peak of #2 in early 1974 in the UK Singles Chart),[1] and was included on Sayer's debut album Silverbird. The song was covered by Three Dog Night, whose version was released in 1974, becoming a hit in the United States, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sung by Chuck Negron.
It uses a circus theme as a metaphor for dealing with the difficulties and wrong choices of life. When Sayer performed the song when it was a hit, he performed it dressed as a pierrot clown. The opening motif quotes Julius Fučík's "Entrance of the Gladiators" which is commonly associated with circus clowns.
In Sayer's version, the last line of the chorus is "I won't let the show go on." Negron sang it as "I must let the show go on," which Sayer was reportedly not happy about.
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