Carnival (The Cardigans song)

"Carnival" is a song by Swedish band the Cardigans. It was released in March 1995 by Trampolene and Stockholm Records as the first single from their second album, Life (1995). The song gave the group their first appearance on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 72 in June 1995. After their next single, a re-issue of "Sick & Tired", reached the top 40, "Carnival" was re-pressed and reached a peak of number 35. This release also peaked at number 44 in the Netherlands, becoming the band's first single to chart there. The accompanying music video was directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley.

"Carnival" was the first released material by the Cardigans on which Nina Persson received a writing credit, on this occasion alongside bassist Magnus Svenningsson whom she would later supersede as the group's primary lyricist. The song concerns the narrator's unrequited love for a boy, and mentions a "carnival" (the description actually appears to refer to a funfair) which the narrator would like to attend with the boy but does not go because he never responds to her.

The single's B-sides are a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr Crowley", one of several Osbourne and Black Sabbath cover versions released by the group; and "Emmerdale", an instrumental which shared its name with their previous album, but did not appear on it.

Critical reception
James Masterton for Dotmusic wrote, "It's in a similar vein to their last hit; light, almost fluffy jazz-pop that sounds gorgeous but is unlikely to bring them a major hit just yet." Holly Hernandez from Melody Maker noted its "frothy stimulation". John Mulvey from NME said the song "is blessed with a budget-flight-down-to-Rio bubbliness — imagine The Sugarcubes playing Swing Out Sister's greatest hits — that makes it oddly irresistible. Also, it shames me to report, the xylophone solo is pretty damned smart." Another NME editor, Mark Beaumont, found that it "takes a vibe-surfing bus tour around Parisian tourist spots".

Track listing

 * International CD single (1995)
 * 1) "Carnival" – 3:20
 * 2) "Mr Crowley" – 2:35
 * 3) "Emmerdale" – 2:25