Davy The Fat Boy

The character sketch at the tail end of Newman’s first album where one can hear his dark, sardonic brand of song writing coming into full bloom for the first time. Over Van Dyke Park’s elaborate arrangement, Newman sings from the perspective of a man, who, in the first verse, describes promising Davy’s parents that he will take care of him following their death. He is, as they state, “the only friend he ever will have”. In a marvellously black twist, it is revealed the narrator is now exploiting Davy in a carnival sideshow, where Davy undertakes the tragic “fat boy dance” for passers-by. Yet the tone of the music soon changes, the music swells to a sombre climax, where the narrator repeats the question previously posed to the crowd, however this time it is sullen and empty, “Isn’t he round?”. The morose strings suggest the narrator’s regret, yet soon they vanish, the rolling piano refrain reappears. The show must go on...