--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a kid I joined the circus. I…" description: "\"When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol J..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg" --- # When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is… ![“When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol Jacobs and he owned it. It was a small thing.” quote by Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg) > “When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol Jacobs and he owned it. It was a small thing.” [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood experiences shape narratives, but reality often differs from expectations. **In simple terms:** Childhood stories differ from reality. Key Takeaway Embrace authentic experiences. Themes memory reality storytelling Mood nostalgic introspective Type autobiographical entertaining When to use this quote - creative writing - theatre - personal memoirs Key Concepts personal history performance truthfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does your past influence your art? - What truths are you avoiding? A Different Perspective Romanticizing past can obscure truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carol Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carol-jacobs-4852779/) [Carols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carols/) [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circus Carol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-carol-4852778/) [Circus Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-did-4852777/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Guy Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy-circus-1381384/) [Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jacob/) [Joined Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joined-circus-4852776/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Like you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-you/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Small things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-things/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [You know how the tightrope guy at the circus wants everyone to believe his act is an art, but deep down you can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-know-how-the-tightrope-guy-at-the-circus-wants-everyone-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“What do parents look like?" "You know how the tightrope guy at the circus wants everyone to believe his act is an art, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-do-parents-look-like-you-know-how-the-tightrope-guy-at-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I put the copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that my grandfather had first read to me 60 years ago on my desk, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-put-the-copy-of-a-christmas-carol-that-my-grandfather-had-first/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [I took a couple of creative writing classes with Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton University, and in my senior year there, I took a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-took-a-couple-of-creative-writing-classes-with-joyce-carol-oates-at/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Orson Welles lists Citizen Kane as his best film, Alfred Hitchcock opts for Shadow of a Doubt, and Sir Carol Reed chose The Third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cotten/orson-welles-lists-citizen-kane-as-his-best-film-alfred-hitchcock/) [Joseph Cotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cotten/) > [I took my first acting class at age 6 because I found out that's what Carol Burnett was doing - acting. Also she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lakin/i-took-my-first-acting-class-at-age-6-because-i-found-out-that-s-what/) [Christine Lakin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lakin/) > [Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-begbie/only-with-great-care-for-thousands-carols-will-be-their-only-link/) [Jeremy Begbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-begbie/) > [Carol Guess's poems are sexy, intuitive, angry, and hopeful. These lyrical narratives measure the impossibly small distance between love and fear. They are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-schomburg/carol-guess-s-poems-are-sexy-intuitive-angry-and-hopeful-these/) [Zachary Schomburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-schomburg/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Christmas was a miserable time for a Jewish child in those days, and I still recall the feeling. ... Decades later, I still feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-moskowitz/christmas-was-a-miserable-time-for-a-jewish-child-in-those-days-and-i/) [Faye Moskowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-moskowitz/) > [A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/a-lot-of-the-carols-were-not-as-you-hear-them-now/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [For the first time in my life I actually feel sorry for Carol. I'm only seventeen years old, and I already know something she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-actually-feel-sorry-for-carol-i-m/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Spring comes with joyous laugh, and song, and sunshine, and the burnt sacrifice of the over-ripe boot and the hoary overshoe. The cowboy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wilson-nye/spring-comes-with-joyous-laugh-and-song-and-sunshine-and-the-burnt/) [Edgar Wilson Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wilson-nye/) > [When I was 17, I read a profile of Carol Leifer. Since then, I wanted to be her. I still want to be her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-silverman/when-i-was-17-i-read-a-profile-of-carol-leifer-since-then-i-wanted-to/) [Sarah Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-silverman/) ## More by Christopher Walken > [One thing that's happened to me is I've been around a long time and I've played a lot of villains and so forth. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/one-thing-that-s-happened-to-me-is-i-ve-been-around-a-long-time-and-i/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [In my personal life I'm very conservative. I've been married to the same person for nearly 50 years, I'm scrupulous about paying bills, avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/in-my-personal-life-i-m-very-conservative-i-ve-been-married-to-the/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I grew up in the '50s, in New York City, where television was born. There were 90 live shows every week, and they used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-grew-up-in-the-50s-in-new-york-city-where-television-was-born-there/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I think that a good movie creates its own world, and that world needn't refer to anything that's real. If it's consistent, if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-think-that-a-good-movie-creates-its-own-world-and-that-world-needn/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [An audience is the most dangerous thing in the world, because they paid, and they're looking at you. And they paid! And there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/an-audience-is-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world-because-they/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I make movies that nobody will see. I've made movies that even I have never seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-make-movies-that-nobody-will-see-i-ve-made-movies-that-even-i-have/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [For me, in movies, it's always a mixed bag. I've never made a movie where I thought, "You were really good in that movie;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/for-me-in-movies-it-s-always-a-mixed-bag-i-ve-never-made-a-movie/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I think the fact that I was raised in show business, in New York City, in the '50s, that's affected my personality to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-think-the-fact-that-i-was-raised-in-show-business-in-new-york-city/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [Obviously an actor draws on his own experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/obviously-an-actor-draws-on-his-own-experience/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [In rehearsal you have a good accident that you can repeat.In the movies if you have a good accident you hope the camera's running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/in-rehearsal-you-have-a-good-accident-that-you-can-repeat-in-the/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I was never a child actor. I was a child performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-was-never-a-child-actor-i-was-a-child-performer/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I have been in movies that I thought I wasn't very good in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-have-been-in-movies-that-i-thought-i-wasn-t-very-good-in/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [I think I'm getting a little bit of Alzheimer's. Just a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/i-think-i-m-getting-a-little-bit-of-alzheimer-s-just-a-little/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [It's very bizarre though when you get hired and then the director will say, "I know how this goes." And you're thinking, "Wait a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/it-s-very-bizarre-though-when-you-get-hired-and-then-the-director/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [It's interesting - a lot of good actors are good mimes. But I'm terrible. If I tried to do an impression, nobody would know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/it-s-interesting-a-lot-of-good-actors-are-good-mimes-but-i-m-terrible/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) [Explore all 209 Christopher Walken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) ## More Carols quotes > [When I was 17, I read a profile of Carol Leifer. Since then, I wanted to be her. I still want to be her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-silverman/when-i-was-17-i-read-a-profile-of-carol-leifer-since-then-i-wanted-to/) [Sarah Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-silverman/) > [Spring comes with joyous laugh, and song, and sunshine, and the burnt sacrifice of the over-ripe boot and the hoary overshoe. The cowboy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wilson-nye/spring-comes-with-joyous-laugh-and-song-and-sunshine-and-the-burnt/) [Edgar Wilson Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wilson-nye/) > [For the first time in my life I actually feel sorry for Carol. I'm only seventeen years old, and I already know something she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-actually-feel-sorry-for-carol-i-m/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/a-lot-of-the-carols-were-not-as-you-hear-them-now/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Christmas was a miserable time for a Jewish child in those days, and I still recall the feeling. ... Decades later, I still feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-moskowitz/christmas-was-a-miserable-time-for-a-jewish-child-in-those-days-and-i/) [Faye Moskowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-moskowitz/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Carol Guess's poems are sexy, intuitive, angry, and hopeful. These lyrical narratives measure the impossibly small distance between love and fear. They are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-schomburg/carol-guess-s-poems-are-sexy-intuitive-angry-and-hopeful-these/) [Zachary Schomburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-schomburg/) > [Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-begbie/only-with-great-care-for-thousands-carols-will-be-their-only-link/) [Jeremy Begbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-begbie/) > [I took my first acting class at age 6 because I found out that's what Carol Burnett was doing - acting. Also she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lakin/i-took-my-first-acting-class-at-age-6-because-i-found-out-that-s-what/) [Christine Lakin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lakin/) > [Orson Welles lists Citizen Kane as his best film, Alfred Hitchcock opts for Shadow of a Doubt, and Sir Carol Reed chose The Third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cotten/orson-welles-lists-citizen-kane-as-his-best-film-alfred-hitchcock/) [Joseph Cotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cotten/) > [I took a couple of creative writing classes with Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton University, and in my senior year there, I took a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-took-a-couple-of-creative-writing-classes-with-joyce-carol-oates-at/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I put the copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that my grandfather had first read to me 60 years ago on my desk, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-put-the-copy-of-a-christmas-carol-that-my-grandfather-had-first/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [A Christmas Carol is such a fool-proof story you can't louse it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-maltin/a-christmas-carol-is-such-a-fool-proof-story-you-can-t-louse-it-up/) [Leonard Maltin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-maltin/) > [I'm very surprised at Carol didn't get a best picture. Todd Haynes is an Academy darling, his period pieces are nothing short of brilliant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bun-b/i-m-very-surprised-at-carol-didn-t-get-a-best-picture-todd-haynes-is/) [Bun B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bun-b/) [Browse all 127 Carols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carols/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy, he had his own circus. His name was Carol Jacobs and he owned it. It was a small thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Walken" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-did-that-it-is-true-but-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carols" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-did-that-it-is-true-but-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/christopher-walken-1773_carols_when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-d_3015152.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was a kid I joined the circus. I did that. It is true. But it's not like you think. There was a guy…” — Christopher Walken", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Walken", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was a kid I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-did-that-it-is-true-but-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/when-i-was-a-kid-i-joined-the-circus-i-did-that-it-is-true-but-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```