I've been a pretty faithful fan of Counting Crows since they released their first CD 15 years ago, and I've always noticed a lot of recurring people, places and cultural references in the lyrics of their songs. One of the most famous is the periodic appearance of a woman named Maria. Singer/songwriter Adam Duritz provides this explanation for why she shows up so frequently:

Maria is the only one who's not completely real. She's just an idea of someone I came up with when I was writing "Round Here." I mean, she's me. It's through the eyes of a girl, but it's someone very much like me struggling at the edge, not sure if she's going to fall off on one side or the other. It's a theme that's stuck through songs. So she keeps popping up.

A second recurring reference is imagery related to carnivals and the circus. This probably isn't surprising, as the idea of the circus is frequently used as a metaphor for fame and the excesses of life as a touring band. Nevertheless, I've always been struck by just how often Duritz uses such allusions. The most obvious usage was the title of their 1998 live CD Across a Wire: Live in New York, but there are plenty of other references in the band's song lyrics.

Because it's Christmas break and I have some extra time on my hands -- and because I'm a librarian with a compulsive need for organizing media -- I decided to catalogue all the circus and carnival references in the lyrics of Counting Crows' songs.

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August and Everything After (1993)
"Round Here" (Listen at Last.fm)
She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land / just like shes walking on a wire in the circus.

"Raining in Baltimore" (Listen at Last.fm)
The circus is falling down on its knees. / The big top is crumbling down.

Recovering the Satellites (1996)
"Goodnight Elisabeth" (Listen at Last.fm)
We couldn't all be cowboys / So some of us are clowns. / Some of us are dancers on the midway. / We roam from town to town. / I hope that everybody can find a little flame. / Me, I say my prayers, then I just light myself on fire / And I walk out on the wire once again.

"Children in Bloom" (Listen at Last.fm)
Where's the funhouse this year? / The fairground's deserted and the skies don't seem as near.

This Desert Life (1999)
"Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" (Listen at Last.fm)
Well, I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame. / I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame.

"St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream" (Listen at Last.fm)
Well I have dreamed of a black car that shimmers and drives / down the length of the evening to the carnival side / in a house where regret is a carousel ride.

Hard Candy (2002)
NONE!

Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings (2008)
"Insignificant" (Watch at YouTube - warning: loud distorted audio)
Can you see me / through the glare of the lamp post? / I am walking a tightrope / into the moon.

"On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago" (Watch at YouTube)
She's a carnival driver / hung in the sky, / cutting through time like a memory / strung on a wire.

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Eight songs total. That's what I've found so far. Did I miss any?

Interestingly, in researching this post, I've discovered two other recurring references in Duritz's lyrics: angels and trains.