Ethereal Purple,

It's not just the tune of "Send in the Clowns" that's sad - it's a poignant, bitter, wistful song about two people who can never quite get their relationship to work. And (I assume) Sondheim used the phrase "send in the clowns" in reference to the circus practice of sending in the clowns to distract the crowd when a serious mishap (probably tragic more often than not) has occurred.

So "Send in the Clowns" is an excellent choice all round!

Cheers,

YY