Buckley often regarded his tenor voice as an instrument, a talent most noticeable on his albums Happy Sad, Lorca, and Starsailor. His first marriage was to Mary Guibert, with whom he had a child, musician Jeff Buckley. They divorced in 1968 and after this Buckley would meet with his son only once more. Buckley married second wife Judy Brejot Sutcliffe in 1970 and adopted her son, Taylor.
Born in Washington DC, Buckley,an Irish-American, lived for 10 years in Amsterdam, New York, before moving to southern California, initially to Bell Gardens and later settling in Anaheim in 1965. His experiences with music were through his family, artists such as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland being particular favorites in the household. During his childhood, Buckley was a fan of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis, although country music was his foremost passion. Reflecting this, at the age of 11 Buckley learned how to play the banjo, an instrument which his mother had bought to occupy him following a bout of mumps. He attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California, and, amongst others, made friends with Don Gordon, Larry Beckett, Jim Fielder (original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and future wife, Mary Guibert. He was an accomplished high school athlete, becoming a quarterback for the school team in addition to getting a place on the baseball team. During this period playing as quarterback, Buckley broke the first two fingers on his left hand but they never fully returned to normal and made guitar playing more difficult. At the age of 15, Buckley abandoned the banjo and moved on to the guitar, playing with Princess Ramona & The Cherokee Riders, a country and western band. However, the lead singer saw Buckley was uninterested and instead suggested he apply himself to the emerging 1960's folk scene.
Buckley's career began with his 1966 debut Tim Buckley, its mix of pop and folk rock drawing on popular influences of the time. His popularity peaked with second album Goodbye and Hello, a more mature record with avant-garde influences and political sentiments. In the three years that followed Buckley was at his most prolific and experimental, producing four albums of varying styles. Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon showed Buckley's folk roots while Lorca veered to more avant-garde styles. The final album of this period, Starsailor, is a mix of jazz, funk and avant-garde styles, representing his continual evolution in genre. This period, while garnering some critical success, proved disastrous for his record sales as the disparity of his styles caused his fan-base to all but disappear.
Following this Buckley changed genres again, with 1972 release Greetings from L.A., which incorporated the funk, rhythm and blues and soul sounds of the early 1970s in to his music. However, this release and the following album Sefronia did not match up to the success of his previous work. In 1974, having alienated much of his fan-base and squandered money made at his peak, Buckley released Look at the Fool, which was neither well received by the public nor the majority of critics. By this point Buckley had grown disillusioned with the music industry and his drug abuse of the past seven years had affected him.
In spite of this, in early 1975, desperate for musical recognition and an escape from poverty and obscurity, Buckley dropped his drug dependencies and engaged the musical press regarding a live album comeback. Buckley began performing material drawn from his whole career as a response to the desires of his audience, desires he had always spurned in the past. However, Buckley relapsed and on June 28, 1975, he overdosed on heroin. His wife Judy, having earlier put him in bed, was unable to rouse him and paramedics pronounced him dead on arrival. He was 28 years old and was survived by his wife and adopted son Taylor, and his biological son, Jeff (who also died at a young age).
Carnival Song
Tim Buckley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He will sing for the day to bring him night
The circus burns in carnival flame
And for a while you won't know my name at all
But sing and dance and love for pennies and gold
The juggling clown smiles to me
And every frown we agree is glad
From Bowery heat to crimson streets of wine
But magic lands will never touch our sands
Your children smile in single file
They learn mistakes that others make
They see although they cannot know
The needs they'll need to have their greed grow wild
But dance and sing, for others bring the shame
And for a while you won't know my name
The lyrics to Tim Buckley's "Carnival Song" offer a window into the world of the carnival, a place where reality and illusion merge in a colorful and frenzied display. The opening line "The singer cries for people's lies" sets the tone for the song as a lament for the falsehoods and illusions that surround us. The singer then reflects on the fleeting nature of fame and identity, singing "for a while you won't know my name at all." Despite the transience of life at the carnival, the singer encourages his listeners to embrace the experience and to "sing and dance and love for pennies and gold."
The song then shifts to a series of vignettes that capture the spirit of the carnival: the smiling juggling clown, the nighttime crowds, the children learning the ways of the world. The lyrics suggest that the carnival is a place of both joy and sorrow, a place where people come to forget their troubles but also to confront the darker aspects of human nature. Despite the challenges of life at the carnival, the singer urges his listeners to "dance and sing," to embrace the moment and find meaning in the experience.
Line by Line Meaning
The singer cries for people's lies
The singer is weeping for the lies that people tell.
He will sing for the day to bring him night
He will sing until the day turns into night.
The circus burns in carnival flame
The circus is burning in a carnival fire.
And for a while you won't know my name at all
For a brief period, my identity will be unknown.
But sing and dance and love for pennies and gold
Sing, dance and love, even if it's for meager rewards.
The juggling clown smiles to me
The juggling clown smiles at me.
And every frown we agree is glad
Every time we frown, we end up chuckling.
The nighttime comes to bring the bums
Nighttime attracts the homeless.
From Bowery heat to crimson streets of wine
From the heat of Bowery streets to the wine-soaked red streets.
But magic lands will never touch our sands
Our sands will never be touched by enchanted lands.
Your children smile in single file
Your children grin while walking single-file.
They learn mistakes that others make
They learn from the errors of others.
They see although they cannot know
They perceive, despite being ignorant.
The needs they'll need to have their greed grow wild
The necessities they require to make their greed flourish.
But dance and sing, for others bring the shame
Dance and sing, regardless of the humiliation others bring.
And for a while you won't know my name
For a brief period, you won't recognize me by name.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind