Cover art for Carnies by Rush

Carnies

Produced by

Jun. 12, 20121 viewer

Carnies Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Under the gaze of the angels
A spectacle like he's never seen
Spinning lights and faces
Demon music and gypsy queens

[Chorus 1]
The glint of iron wheels
The bodies spin in a clockwork dance
The smell of flint and steel
A wheel of fate, a game of chance

[Chorus 2]
How I prayed just to get away
To carry me anywhere
Sometimes the angels punish us
By answering our prayers
By answering our prayers


[Verse 2]
A face of naked evil
Turns the young boy's blood to ice

Deadly confrontation
Such a dangerous device

[Chorus 1]
The glint of iron wheels
The bodies spin in a clockwork dance
The smell of flint and steel
A wheel of fate, a game of chance

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  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

From the liner notes:
I FOUND WORK WITH A TRAVELING CARNIVAL, and for the Midsummer Festival in Crown City, our games and rides were set up right in the middle of the Square, beneath the Angels. One night, amid the noise and confusion of the crowded midway, I saw a man working with wires and wooden barrels. He stood and turned – the Anarchist! – holding a clockwork detonator in his hand. I called out to warn the crowd, then suddenly he threw the device at me, and I caught it automatically – just as the people turned to look my way. I escaped, but in disgrace, and fled down the Winding Pinion River to the sea.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Rush say about "Carnies"?
Genius Answer

Geddy Lee:

This was one of the newer songs, one of the last songs we wrote for the record actually and again it came out of a very good jam that Alex [Lifeson] and I had. We did this jam session, just the two of us, in the middle of the Time Machine tour when we were on a break. I made a rule thirty-five years ago never jam with Alex without a tape recorder. I recorded all these things, then we kinda forgot about it and then in the fall of 2011 when we were earnestly trying to finish the record we got off to a very slow start. One of those jam sessions I looked into ended up becoming Headlong Flight, and the other one was the opening riff to “Carnies”. It just has a different feel for us, kinda slow heavy riff with me playing counterpoint to what Alex is playing. Everybody gets stuck once in a while and it’s not so much being stuck as you’re just kind of in the doldrums. I think it’s important to write everyday but not everyday you’re gonna write anything worth keeping and these recorded jams just helps you get through that.

—via MusicRadar.com

Credits
Produced By
Release Date
June 12, 2012
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