Cathy's Clown (You Am I song)

"Cathy's Clown"
Single by You Am I
from the album Hi Fi Way
ReleasedFebruary 1995
StudioGreene St. Recording, New York City
GenreAlternative rock
Length2:25
LabelrooArt
Songwriter(s)Rusty Hopkinson, Andy Kent, Tim Rogers
Producer(s)Lee Ranaldo
You Am I singles chronology
"When You Got Dry/How Much Is Enough"
(1994) 		"Cathy's Clown"
(1995) 		"Jewels and Bullets"
(1995)

"Cathy's Clown" is the first single from the album Hi Fi Way by Australian rock band, You Am I. It was released in 1995 and was the band's first single to reach the Australian Top 40 singles chart, peaking at number 36.[1] It was listed at number 84 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 1995, an opinion poll of national radio station Triple J's listeners.[2]

Lyrics

In an interview with Jane Gazzo, Tim Rogers explained that the intro to Cathy's Clown is lifted from 'Everybody's Got Something to Hide" by The Beatles. "But the direct lift is from a version that the Hoodoo Gurus did on a live to air broadcast. Lyrically it's a mess, but the attempt was to get fictional about the job my then-partner Tracy was deep into. She was working at the State Library. She studied hard to get a senior position and her dedication to the profession was deeply impressive to me."[3]

Track listing

  1. "Cathy's Clown" – 2:25
  2. "Hi-Way Fi" – 2:55
  3. "Gira E Respira" – 5:03
  4. "In the Street" – 2:03

"Hi-Way Fi" and "Gira E Respira" are You Am I originals (Tim Rogers), and the former track can be found on the Hi Fi Way's bonus live disc, Someone Else's Crowd. "In the Street" is a cover of Big Star's song, written by its members Chris Bell and Alex Chilton.

Charts

Chart performance for "Cathy's Clown"
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 36

References

  1. ^ "Official You Am I website". Archived from the original on 2008-10-10.
  2. ^ "JJJ Hottest 100 1995". Archived from the original on 2009-02-18. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  3. ^ Gazzo, Jane (2022). Sound as Ever - The Greatest Decade in Australian Music 1990-1999. Melbourne Books. p. 47.
  4. ^ "You Am I – Cathy's Clown". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 28 October 2022.