Red Rubber Ball - The Cyrkle, 1966

 
 

I should've known you'd bid me farewell
There's a lesson to be learned from this, and I learned it very well
Now I know you're not the only starfish in the sea
If I never hear your name again, it's all the same to me

And I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball

You never cared for secrets I'd confide
To you I'm just an ornament, somethin' for your pride
Always runnin', never carin', that's the life you live
Stolen minutes of your time were all you had to give

And I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball

The story's in the past, with nothin' to recall
I've got my life to live, and I don't need you at all
The roller coaster ride we took is nearly at an end
I bought my ticket with my tears; that's all I'm gonna spend

And I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball

Ohhh I think it's gonna be all right
Yeah, the worst is over now
The mornin' sun is shinin' like a red rubber ball

 
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They were discovered and managed by Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager, and were given a song by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley (of the Seekers) to record. On top of all this, The Cyrkle were chosen to open for the Beatles' U.S. tour in 1966. So it's of little surprise that this group was very popular for a few years. But it didn't last - by 1968, founders Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes were writing commercial jingles such as Alka-Seltzer's "plop plop fizz fizz", and 7-Up's Uncola.
 
The Cyrkle's fifteen minutes of fame included the memorable Red Rubber Ball. The song was not poetry, and certainly not one of Paul Simon's best; I once read that he said it was the worst song he'd ever written. However, it's a fun slice of the sunny, optimistic mid-sixties.
 
Connections: Writer Paul Simon is featured on my Simon & Garfunkel page, and Bruce Woodley ended up with the New Seekers.