"It's Only Money, Pt. 1"

When I was looking at the lyrics of "It's Only Money, Pt. 1" recently in order to compare them to a line in "The Jester," I noticed that there's anaphora in the lines "Pay the butcher; pay the baker / Pay the taxman; pay me later."  This repetition illustrates the frequency and number of payments that must be made.  Additionally, the first three of these clauses are sung to nearly the same melody (the pitches are the same [D E G E], but the rhythm differs a bit), highlighting this effect.

"The Jester"

In "The Jester," there's the line "It is within your fortune lies," and perhaps just coincidentally, this bears some resemblance to a sentiment in Argent's earlier "It's Only Money" (both parts):  "It's not what's at the door / But the money you have in your soul."

"Highwire"

I listened to Argent's Circus yester-day to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its U.K. release, and for the first time, I noticed an allusion in "Highwire."  About halfway through the song, there's the line "With amazing grace and sweet sensation captured by the high flier," which seems to contain a nod to the spiritual "Amazing Grace" ("Amazing grace - how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me!").  I find some of the singing on Circus hard to understand; otherwise, I'm sure I would have discovered this reference earlier.

Circus

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (4 April 1975), Argent's Circus (Epic S EPC 80691) was released in the U.K.  The U.S. and Canada release ((Epic PE 33422) had been on 10 March 1975.