The Carny
| "The Carny" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | |
| from the album Your Funeral... My Trial | |
| Released | 3 November 1986 |
| Recorded | July – August 1986 at Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin, Germany and Strongroom in London, United Kingdom |
| Genre | Gothic rock, art rock, post-punk |
| Length | 8:01 |
| Label | Mute |
| Songwriter(s) | Nick Cave |
| Producer(s) | Tony Cohen, Flood |
"The Carny" is a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds appearing on their fourth studio album Your Funeral... My Trial. It was written by Nick Cave and was recorded in August 1986 at Hansa Tonstudio and Strongroom.
Subject
[edit]The lyrics concern a carnival worker who vanished, highlighted in the words "No one saw the Carny go". As the circus prepares to leave without the missing performer, they find the Carny's horse Sorrow, "so skin and bone", and kill it. The dwarfs Moses and Noah dig a ditch to bury it, later remarking "we should've dug a deeper one". When it begins to rain, the Carny's caravan is swept away.[1]
The song is featured in Wim Wenders' 1987 film Wings of Desire, when the character Marion (Solveig Dommartin) listens to the album Your Funeral, My Trial. The song corresponds to the plot, in which the circus that Marion works for as a trapeze artist closes down.[1] Professor Adrian Danks wrote "The Carny" adds a feel of sorrow in the background, while Marion gives "breathy accompaniment".[2] Cave personally appears in the film in later scenes.[3]
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Mojo | United Kingdom | 100 Epic Rock Tracks[4] | 58 |
| 2011 | Dave Thompson | United Kingdom | 1000 Songs that Rock Your World[5] | 304 |
Personnel
[edit]Adapted from the Your Funeral... My Trial liner notes.[6]
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Davison, Annette (2017). "Music to Desire By: The Soundtrack to Wim Wenders's Der Himmel über Berlin". "Hollywood Theory, Non-Hollywood Practice ": Cinema Soundtracks in the 1980s and 1990s. Routledge. ISBN 978-1351563581.
- ^ Danks, Adrian (2016). "Red Right Hand: Nick Cave and the Cinema". Cultural Seeds: Essays on the Work of Nick Cave. London and New York: Routledge. p. 114. ISBN 978-1317156253.
- ^ Billingham, Peter (2013). "'Into My Arms': Themes of Desire and Spirituality in The Boatman's Call". The Art of Nick Cave: New Critical Essays. Bristol and Chicago: Intellect Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-1841506272.
- ^ "Mojo: 100 Epic Rock Tracks". Mojo. No. 125. April 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Thompson, Dave (3 May 2011). The Carny by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Krause Publications. p. 213. ISBN 9781440218798. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Your Funeral... My Trial (sleeve). Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. London, United Kingdom: Mute Records. 1986.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
| Studio albums |
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|---|---|
| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles |
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| Other songs | |
| Cave and Ellis | |
| Grinderman | |
| Related articles | |
