The Carnival Is Over
| "The Carnival Is Over" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Netherlands single picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Seekers | ||||
| B-side | "We Shall Not Be Moved" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, baroque pop | |||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Composer(s) | from Russian folk music | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Tom Springfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Tom Springfield | |||
| The Seekers singles chronology | ||||
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| Official audio | ||||
| "The Carnival Is Over (Stereo) (2009 Remaster)" on YouTube | ||||
"The Carnival Is Over" is a song written by Tom Springfield, for the Australian folk pop group the Seekers. It is based on a Russian folk song from about 1883, adapted with original English-language lyrics. The song became the Seekers' signature recording, and the band customarily closed their concerts, saying "Goodbye" to the audience with it ever since its success in late 1965.
The single spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in November and December 1965. At its 1965 sales peak, the single was selling 93,000 copies per day in the UK with total sales of at least 1.41 million in the UK alone. It stopped The Who from getting to No. 1 with "My Generation".
The song also topped the Australian Charts for six weeks, from 4 December 1965, and reached No. 1 in the Irish Singles Chart for two weeks.