About the song
The Carnival Is Over is a song by the Australian folk-pop group The Seekers, released in 1965 as the second single from their third album Come the Day. The song was written by Tom Springfield, the brother of singer Dusty Springfield, and adapted from a Russian folk song called Stenka Razin.
The song is a melancholic ballad about the end of a love affair, using the metaphor of a carnival to symbolize the temporary joy and excitement of the relationship. The narrator bids farewell to their lover, knowing that they will never see each other again. The song expresses a sense of sadness, nostalgia and resignation, as well as a hope for a better future.
The song was a huge success for The Seekers, reaching number one in the UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, and number seven in the US. It sold over 1.4 million copies worldwide and became one of the best-selling singles of the 1960s. The song also won the 1966 Ivor Novello Award for Best Selling Single.
The song has been covered by many artists, including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Boney M., The Shadows, Olivia Newton-John and André Rieu. The song is considered a classic of Australian music and one of the signature songs of The Seekers.