Lanegan began his musical career in 1984 with Screaming Trees, with whom he released seven studio albums and five EPs before their disbandment in 2000. During his time with the band, he also started a solo career and released his first solo studio album, The Winding Sheet, in 1990. He subsequently released a further 10 solo albums, which received critical recognition but only moderate commercial success. Following the end of Screaming Trees, he became a frequent collaborator of Queens of the Stone Age, and was a full-time member between 2001 and 2005 during the Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies to Paralyze eras.
Lanegan collaborated with various artists throughout his career. In the 1990s, he and Kurt Cobain recorded an album of Lead Belly covers that was ultimately never released. He also joined Layne Staley and Mike McCready in the band Mad Season, and formed the alternative rock group The Gutter Twins with Greg Dulli in 2003, as well as contributing to releases by Moby, Bomb the Bass, Soulsavers, Tinariwen, The Twilight Singers, Manic Street Preachers, and Unkle, among others.
Lanegan struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol throughout his life, but had been sober for over a decade at the time of his death. Encouraged by his friend Anthony Bourdain, he released the memoir Sing Backwards and Weep in 2020. He followed this up in 2021 with the memoir Devil in a Coma, which focused on his near-death experience with COVID-19. He and his wife Shelley Brien left the U.S. in 2020 and settled in the Irish town of Killarney, where he died two years later at the age of 57. No cause of death was revealed.
Studio albums
The Winding Sheet (1990)
Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994)
Scraps at Midnight (1998)
I'll Take Care of You (1999)
Field Songs (2001)
Bubblegum (2004)
Blues Funeral (2012)
Imitations (2013)
Phantom Radio (2014)
Gargoyle (2017)
Somebody's Knocking (2019)
Straight Songs of Sorrow (2020)
Carnival
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's as strange as I've ever lived
So you're comin' along to the sideshow
I'll be fallin' all over like dominos
For girls are sad in their eyes
They're all standin' around bein' hypnotised
And walkin' me back to the firin' line
Ya smile to get in the door
Tell your ma that you're gone to the freakshow
I'm crawlin' all over the carnival
Just scratchin' a stitch in a skin
I'm moanin' for more of the medicine
In the mornin' you're wonderin' where ya been
Just turnin' your back to the ghost
And tryin' to look like you just might know
That all of the good that you've seen
Just went down and into the drain
Oh kids am I straight out for now
In the mornin' I'm gonna find it on out
What in the world can it be
It's as strange as I've ever seen
The girls are dead in their eyes
Just standin' around like they're hypnotised
Who'll follow me back to the freak show
I'm crawlin' all over the carnival
And I am gone
The kid's in a straight out for now
In the mornin' I'm want to find it on out
What in the world can it be
It's as strange as I've ever seen
The girls are dead in their eyes
Just standin' around like they're hypnotised
Who'll follow me back to the freak show
I'm crawlin' all over the carnival
And I am gone
In Mark Lanegan's song "Carnival," the singer seems to be inviting someone to join them in an experience that they describe as strange and hypnotizing. The song is full of mysticism and surrealism, leaving the meaning open to interpretation. The carnival in the song is not simply a place of amusement and entertainment, but a place of darkness and mystery. The singer invites the listener to come with them "to the sideshow," which is often where the oddities and curiosities of the carnival are displayed, such as bearded women, Siamese twins, and other anomalies. The singer seems to be captivated by the carnival, but also aware of its darker, more unsettling side. The girls are described as being "dead in their eyes" and the singer is "falling all over like dominos," implying that the carnival is having a powerful, almost hypnotic effect on them.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes consumed by the carnival, crawling all over it and moaning for more of the "medicine." There is a sense of danger and recklessness in the lyrics, as the singer seems to be throwing caution to the wind and indulging in whatever the carnival has to offer. The final line, "and I am gone," suggests that the carnival has taken the singer completely and they have lost themselves in its strange world.
Line by Line Meaning
Where in the world have you been
The singer is curious about where the listener has been.
It's as strange as I've ever lived
The situation is very strange and unusual.
So you're comin' along to the sideshow
The listener is invited to attend the sideshow with the singer.
I'll be fallin' all over like dominos
The artist will be easily influenced by things at the sideshow.
For girls are sad in their eyes
The girls at the sideshow appear to be unhappy.
They're all standin' around bein' hypnotised
The girls seem to be under some kind of trance or spell.
And walkin' me back to the firin' line
The singer feels like he is being led into a dangerous situation.
Ya smile to get in the door
You must appear friendly to gain entry or acceptance.
Ya can't keep it closed anymore
The artist can no longer keep his emotions or desires hidden.
Tell your ma that you're gone to the freakshow
The listener should inform their mother that they are attending the sideshow.
I'm crawlin' all over the carnival
The singer is exploring and enjoying the carnival.
Just scratchin' a stitch in a skin
The artist is satisfying an itch or urge.
I'm moanin' for more of the medicine
The singer desires more of whatever has altered his state of mind.
In the mornin' you're wonderin' where ya been
The listener may not remember what they did or where they went the night before.
Just turnin' your back to the ghost
The listener is ignoring their problems or fears.
And tryin' to look like you just might know
The listener is pretending to be knowledgeable or experienced.
That all of the good that you've seen
The good things that the listener has experienced are now gone.
Just went down and into the drain
The good things have been lost and forgotten.
Oh kids am I straight out for now
The singer is unsure of his current state of mind.
In the mornin' I'm gonna find it on out
The artist plans to figure out what happened in the morning.
What in the world can it be
The artist is questioning what led to his current situation.
It's as strange as I've ever seen
The situation is still very strange and unusual.
The girls are dead in their eyes
The girls at the sideshow appear lifeless and unhappy.
Just standin' around like they're hypnotised
The girls seem to be in a trance or spell.
Who'll follow me back to the freak show
The singer is looking for someone else to join him at the sideshow.
I'm crawlin' all over the carnival
The singer is still enjoying and exploring the carnival.
And I am gone
The singer has lost himself in the experience and is no longer fully in control.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK LANEGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kellypetersen4083
Rest in peace you sweet, wonderful, talented man. You will live on forever in our hearts and the music 💜💜💜
@williammalloy5314
I can't tell you how hard I cried listening to this just now. My God, it's so incredible.
@maryromanek6683
It's really hard to pick, but this is my favorite song on my favorite of his solo albums. Typical self-loathing, but absolutely brilliant! As is the rest of the album. I am SO glad I told him Whiskey is a masterpiece! Rest well, my friend...
@gilmayer1
RIP Mark 🎸🎼💔😢 🙏. Thank you for the music and the memories 🙏
@juliocarloz7839
The Best song EVER!
@Rippenhengst
Fj7zźYep. Especially as a junkie you can totally relate on it. 😶
@dougleydorite
@@Rippenhengst some lines make it obvious, but most the songs seems like it's about groupies or something
@shodopoet
“I’ll be falling all over like dominos…” fkg great loss a legend he bled songs R.I.P. Respect ✊🏼
@tcchesire6907
So well said Kelly.. He lived his life in a thunderstorm but left us with his sublime Aural art.
@DeViLMaN666_Qc
wow this song really stuck with me amazing song !