"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.
"The Carny" | |
---|---|
Song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | |
from the album Your Funeral... My Trial | |
Released | 3 November 1986 (1986-11-03) |
Recorded | July – August 1986 (1986-08) at Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin, Germany and Strongroom in London, United Kingdom |
Genre | Post-punk |
Length | 8:01 |
Label | Mute |
Songwriter(s) | Nick Cave |
Producer(s) | Tony Cohen, Flood |
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]
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 |
Adapted from the Your Funeral... My Trial liner notes.[6]
|
|
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)