I wandered in these big blue shoes,
till we had nothing left to lose.
Nobody wants you when you're a circus clown.
I should know.
I looked all over town.

I guess folks just don't like my face.
They make out like I'm some disgrace.
But nothing's gonna change this painted frown.
And I know.
I looked all over town.

Maybe somewhere I could be free.
Somewhere they won't throw rocks at me.
Somewhere this crazy hair could be my crown.
But all my life,
I've looked all over town.

So whistling this circus tune,
I inflated one more balloon.
And as I floated up I looked straight down.
And I looked all over town.

One last time.
I looked all over town


Lyrics submitted by Maeraj

I Looked All Over Town Lyrics as written by

Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I Looked All Over Town song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

4 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song is about how people can be so caught up on how people look that they never get to meet the person underneath. And that maybe there's somewhere out there for even the oddest people (like a circus clown), somewhere where people won't be mean to you for who you are ("throwing rocks" at you).

    ottovonbismarckon March 11, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    aww thats a good meaning. i like it:)

    i just really love this song. one of my favorites. i love the part about how hes a circus clown and it sort of says that in the lyrics and the symbolism and repition in different words. priceless.

    bright.eyes.on July 02, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    the melody together with the voices synchronize perfectly. one feels sometimes uncomprehended but this music makes you feel accompanied.

    Ar-Kikanon July 29, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    He should go on looking in every place until he finds his true love.

    Ar-Kikanon March 29, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.