Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
And no-one saw the carny go
The weeks flew by
Until they moved on the show
Leaving his caravan behind
It was parked out on the south east ridge
And as the company crossed the bridge
With the first rain filling the bone-dry river bed
It shone, just so, upon the edge
"Away, away, we're sad" they said
Dog-boy, Atlas, Mandrake, the geeks, the hired hands
There was not one among them that did not cast an eye behind
In the hope that the carny would return to his own kind
The Carny left behind a horse, all skin and bone
That he named "Sorrow"
And it was a shallow, unmarked grave
That that old nag was laid
In the then parched meadow
And it was the dwarves were given the task of digging the ditch
And laying the nag's carcass in the ground
While boss Bellini, waved his smoking pistol around
Saying "The nag was dead meat"
"We can't afford to carry dead weight"
While the whole company standing about
Not making a sound
And turning to the dwarves perched on the enclosure gate
The boss says "Bury this lump of crow bait"
And the rain came hammering down
Everybody running for their wagons
Tying all the canvas flaps down
The mangy cats growling in their cages
The bird-girl flapping and squawking around
The whole valley reeking of wet beast
Wet beast and rotten, sodden hay
Freak and brute creation
All packed up and on their way
The three dwarves peering from the wagon's hind
Moses says to Noah "We shoulda dug a deepa one"
Their grizzled faces like dying moons
Still dirty from the digging done
And Charlie the eldest of the three said
"I guess the Carny ain't gonna show"
And they were silent for a spell
Wishing they'd done a better job of burying Sorrow
And the company passed from the valley
Into higher ground
And the rain beat on the ridge and on the meadow
And on the mound
Until nothing was left, nothing left at all
Except the body of Sorrow
That rose in time
To float upon the surface of the eaten soil
And a murder of crows did circle 'round
First one, then the others flapping blackly down
And the carny's van still sat upon the edge
Tilting slowly as the firm ground turned to sludge
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And no-one saw the Carny go
No-one saw the Carny go
No-one saw the Carny go
I say it's funny how things go
The weeks flew by
Until they moved on the show
Leaving his caravan behind
It was parked out on the south east ridge
And as the company crossed the bridge
With the first rain filling the bone-dry river bed
It shone, just so, upon the edge
"Away, away, we're sad" they said
Dog-boy, Atlas, Mandrake, the geeks, the hired hands
There was not one among them that did not cast an eye behind
In the hope that the carny would return to his own kind
The Carny left behind a horse, all skin and bone
That he named "Sorrow"
And it was a shallow, unmarked grave
That that old nag was laid
In the then parched meadow
And it was the dwarves were given the task of digging the ditch
And laying the nag's carcass in the ground
While boss Bellini, waved his smoking pistol around
Saying "The nag was dead meat"
"We can't afford to carry dead weight"
While the whole company standing about
Not making a sound
And turning to the dwarves perched on the enclosure gate
The boss says "Bury this lump of crow bait"
And the rain came hammering down
Everybody running for their wagons
Tying all the canvas flaps down
The mangy cats growling in their cages
The bird-girl flapping and squawking around
The whole valley reeking of wet beast
Wet beast and rotten, sodden hay
Freak and brute creation
All packed up and on their way
The three dwarves peering from the wagon's hind
Moses says to Noah "We shoulda dug a deepa one"
Their grizzled faces like dying moons
Still dirty from the digging done
And Charlie the eldest of the three said
"I guess the Carny ain't gonna show"
And they were silent for a spell
Wishing they'd done a better job of burying Sorrow
And the company passed from the valley
Into higher ground
And the rain beat on the ridge and on the meadow
And on the mound
Until nothing was left, nothing left at all
Except the body of Sorrow
That rose in time
To float upon the surface of the eaten soil
And a murder of crows did circle 'round
First one, then the others flapping blackly down
And the carny's van still sat upon the edge
Tilting slowly as the firm ground turned to sludge
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And the rain it hammered down
And no-one saw the Carny go
No-one saw the Carny go
No-one saw the Carny go
I say it's funny how things go
Lyrics submitted by Girgo, edited by BluesBison
The Carny Lyrics as written by Nicholas Cave
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I like this song very much to, but I think that it's about the deluge in the Bible, when everything was washed away by the rain, and the only thing remaining in Cave's song is this carny, obviously a "travelling freak-show", which were very popular in past times, where people would come to watch retarded and crippled people for amusement, depicted here by the Birdgirl, the Dog boy and of course the dwarfes. The leader indeed doesn't seem to be a very nice person, as he treats old Sorrow as though he never was nothing to him. I guess that poor horse must have pulled the wagons and died, and was never "buried" properly - he was just dead weight to the leader.
Anyway, I think that Nick is playing with the thought that the only survinging people after the deluge - the ark of Noa - consisted of a bunch of freaks, and it is them that has given birth the today's humans, our ancestors were freaks, and the human kind carries that mark I guess would be something Nick would toy with in a song.