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Australian anthems: the Seekers – The Carnival is Over Australian anthems: the Seekers – The Carnival is Over
(6 months later)
Last Last week, Andrew Mueller wrote beautifully about how Midnight Oil played the subversive anti-anthem Beds are Burning at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, the band dressed in black outfits emblazoned with the word “sorry” – an apology from the inhabitants of a proud country founded on pillage and genocide.
week, Andrew Mueller wrote beautifully about how Midnight Oil played the The song that was originally marked for that spot was actually the Seekers’ The Carnival is Over – not so surprising perhaps, as its refrain of “Now the harbour light is calling/This will be our last goodbye” has long since slipped into Australian hearts, and it has been used to close numerous sporting and cultural events, notably Expo ’88. Unfortunately, singer Judith Durham had broken her hip. (The group ended up performing it at the Paralympics, Durham seated in a wheelchair.)
subversive anti-anthem Beds are Burning at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Nonetheless, it’s an odd song to have finish sporting events – traditionally celebratory – as it’s actually a desperately sad tale of lost love, played out under the darkening skies and echoing fields of a departed fair.
Sydney Olympic Games, the band dressed in black outfits emblazoned with the High above, the dawn is waking And my tears are falling rain For the carnival is over We may never meet again
word “sorry” – an apology from the inhabitants of a proud country founded on The song feels supremely evocative. A light military tattoo taps out on the drum – perhaps evoking Australia’s troubled origins – while over four-part harmonies, an acoustic guitar and a stand-up bass, Durham sings its words of farewell with a serene beauty that induces feelings of yearning and bereavement: emotions that must have felt particularly apposite for a generation of immigrants moving across to Australia in the 60s.
pillage and genocide. Among these immigrants were the “10 pound poms”, including two of my mother’s sisters and their families. I remember how odd it seemed to me, watching them on their rare trips back to the UK with their sunburned faces and tales of distance and isolation, their words seeming to echo with a wistfulness and a longing for the more prosaic, grey streets of Essex – something they could never quite reclaim.
The song Appropriate then, that The Carnival is Over was originally released in the UK, after the Seekers moved from Melbourne to London in 1964 – before they became famous at home – having worked their way across on a 12-month engagement for a Sitmar cruise liner as the house band.
that was originally marked for that spot was actually the Seekers’ The Carnival Says Durham of the song’s performance at the Seekers’ first farewell concert in 1968 (it’s a grand Australian tradition that the Seekers split up and return with a pleasing regularity):
is Over – not so surprising perhaps, as its refrain of “Now the harbour light is It’s a very emotional song for people, and no question about it, they were, literally, grief-stricken. Fans sat there with tears rolling down their faces while we sang this song.
calling/This will be our last goodbye” has long since slipped into Australian (You can witness another “final” concert – no less tear-inducing and emotionally-charged – from the Seekers here, at the AFL Grand Final in 1994. )
hearts, and it has been used to close numerous sporting and cultural events, The Carnival is Over was an immediate success upon its release in November 1965. It sold over 1.4m copies in the UK alone, and reached No 1 in both the UK and Australia. In 1967, the group were named Australians of the Year – the first musicians to be accorded that honour. The band still holds the record for the largest single concert crowd in the southern hemisphere (200,000), recorded at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne upon their return to Australia in March 1967.
notably Expo ’88. Unfortunately, singer Judith Durham had broken her hip. (The Co-written and produced by Tom Springfield (quintessential 60s pop chanteuse Dusty Springfield’s brother – together, they formed two-thirds of the popular folk/rock trio the Springfields), The Carnival is Over is famously based around a traditional Russian folk song – Stenka Razin – written about a 17th-century Cossack officer who drowned his betrothed in the Volga River to prove to his soldiers that love had not turned him soft.
group ended up performing it at the Paralympics, Durham seated in a wheelchair.) Springfield rewrote the lyrics – still basing them around the time-honoured tale of love lost – bringing in a reference to Pierrot and Columbine, archetypal masked and ill-fated characters in the Commedia dell’Arte, the traditional Italian pantomime.
Nonetheless, The Melbourne Review describes the recording thus:
it’s an odd song to have finish sporting events – traditionally celebratory – Springfield’s words have a poetic formality about them that together with the stately tempo of the music lends the song a hymnal quality. Judith Durham’s voice is strong and clear and her phrasing steadfast, as if she’s steeling herself for the ordeal. Her restraint (so at odds with contemporary singing styles) only serves to heighten the emotional impact of the song.
as it’s actually a desperately sad tale of lost love, played out under the Absolutely. It’s that whole stiff upper lip thing – mustn’t show any emotion even though your world is breaking apart – that really gets the tears flowing.
darkening skies and echoing fields of a departed fair. The Seekers had another great and popular songs too – most obviously Georgy Girl, Morningtown Ride (a favourite with parents everywhere), I’ll Never Find Another You and their stirring rendition of I am Australian – but it’s The Carnival is Over that will be what Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Judith Durham are remembered for.
High above, the dawn I can remember when I first moved to Australia – to Melbourne for a year in 1999 – thinking that I knew most all I needed to know about the culture by the time I left. Then I saw Muriel’s Wedding and finally heard the Seekers’ version of The Carnival is Over, probably at the aforementioned Paralympics closing ceremony. I was already familiar with Nick Cave’s stately, surprisingly deferential take (from his 1986 covers album Kicking Against the Pricks) but ... oh, man. How could a country sound so sure and brash and proud of itself on one hand – as typified by the Aussie cricket team, the sporting achievements – and, on the other, still sound so uncertain, lost and yearning, almost childish?
is waking It’s a puzzle that still perplexes and attracts me today, six years after having moved to Brisbane and four years after I became a citizen. I think it speaks volumes for Australia that The Carnival is Over is such a loved, shared touch-point.
And my tears are falling rain I will never tire of it.
For the carnival is over Say goodbye, my own true lover As we sing a lover’s song How it breaks my heart to leave you Now the carnival is gone
We may never meet again
The song
feels supremely evocative. A light military tattoo taps out on the drum –
perhaps evoking Australia’s troubled origins – while over four-part
harmonies, an acoustic guitar and a stand-up bass, Durham sings its words of
farewell with a serene beauty that induces feelings of yearning and
bereavement: emotions that must have felt particularly apposite for a
generation of immigrants moving across to Australia in the 60s.
Among these
immigrants were the “10 pound poms”, including two of my mother’s sisters and
their families. I remember how odd it seemed to me, watching them on their rare
trips back to the UK with their sunburned faces and tales of distance and isolation,
their words seeming to echo with a wistfulness and a longing for the more
prosaic, grey streets of Essex – something they could never quite reclaim.
Appropriate
then, that The Carnival is Over was originally released in the UK, after the Seekers
moved from Melbourne to London in 1964 – before they became famous at home – having
worked their way across on a 12-month engagement for a Sitmar cruise liner as
the house band.
Says
Durham of the song’s performance at the Seekers’ first farewell concert in 1968
(it’s a grand Australian tradition that the Seekers split up and return with a
pleasing regularity):
It’s a
very emotional song for people, and no question about it, they were, literally,
grief-stricken. Fans sat there with tears rolling down their faces while we
sang this song.
(You can
witness another “final” concert – no less tear-inducing and emotionally-charged
– from the Seekers here, at the AFL Grand Final in 1994. )
The
Carnival is Over was an immediate success upon its release in November 1965. It
sold over 1.4m copies in the UK alone, and reached No 1 in both
the UK and Australia. In 1967, the group were named Australians of the Year –
the first musicians to be accorded that honour. The band still holds the record
for the largest single concert crowd in the southern hemisphere (200,000), recorded at the Myer Music Bowl in
Melbourne upon their return to Australia in March 1967.
Co-written
and produced by Tom Springfield (quintessential 60s pop chanteuse Dusty
Springfield’s brother – together, they formed two-thirds of the popular folk/rock
trio the Springfields), The Carnival is Over is famously based around a
traditional Russian folk song – Stenka Razin – written about a 17th-century Cossack officer who drowned his betrothed in the Volga River to prove
to his soldiers that love had not turned him soft.
Springfield
rewrote the lyrics – still basing them around the time-honoured tale of love
lost – bringing in a reference to Pierrot and Columbine, archetypal masked and
ill-fated characters in the Commedia dell’Arte, the traditional Italian
pantomime.
The Melbourne Review describes the
recording thus:
Springfield’s words have a poetic formality about them that together
with the stately tempo of the music lends the song a hymnal quality. Judith
Durham’s voice is strong and clear and her phrasing steadfast, as if she’s
steeling herself for the ordeal. Her restraint (so at odds with contemporary
singing styles) only serves to heighten the emotional impact of the song.
Absolutely.
It’s that whole stiff upper lip thing – mustn’t show any emotion even though
your world is breaking apart – that really gets the tears flowing.
The
Seekers had another great and popular songs too – most obviously Georgy Girl, Morningtown Ride (a favourite with parents everywhere), I’ll Never Find
Another You and their stirring rendition of I am Australian – but it’s The
Carnival is Over that will be what Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and
Judith Durham are remembered for.
I can
remember when I first moved to Australia – to Melbourne for a year in 1999 –
thinking that I knew most all I needed to know about the culture by the time I
left. Then I saw Muriel’s Wedding and finally heard the Seekers’ version of The
Carnival is Over, probably at the aforementioned Paralympics closing ceremony.
I was already familiar with Nick Cave’s stately, surprisingly deferential take
(from his 1986 covers album Kicking Against the Pricks) but ... oh, man. How
could a country sound so sure and brash and proud of itself on one hand – as
typified by the Aussie cricket team, the sporting achievements – and, on the other,
still sound so uncertain, lost and yearning, almost childish?
It’s a
puzzle that still perplexes and attracts me today, six years after having moved
to Brisbane and four years after I became a citizen. I think it speaks volumes
for Australia that The Carnival is Over is such a loved, shared touch-point.
I will
never tire of it.
Say goodbye, my own
true lover
As we sing a lover’s song
How it breaks my heart to leave you
Now the carnival is gone