Song · Natalie Merchant
“Carnival” by Natalie Merchant
From the album Garden Lillies (1995)
“Carnival” by Natalie Merchant appears on 23 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 1995 and 2025. It was first released in 1995 on the album Garden Lillies. Its best result is #9 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #13 alternative song of 1995, #2,972 alternative song of all time and #209 of the '90s.
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"Carnival" introduced Natalie Merchant as a solo artist in 1995, the lead single from her first album on her own, and she wrote and produced it herself. It's a slow-burning, hypnotic groove that runs six minutes on the album, pared down for a radio edit, and she sounds rapt, wandering and watchful.
The song paints a city street as a carnival. Merchant, who grew up in rural surroundings, has said it came from her first trip to New York City at 16 and her fascination with the strange lives of the people she saw there. Released in the US in June 1995, it reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, her best solo showing there. Melodie McDaniel directed the video, which follows Merchant through the streets of New York taking photographs with a Leica M3.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 9 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 | 107 |
| 1995 | 59 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995 | 91 |
| 1995 | 45 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 | 101 |
| 1995 | 13 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 | 100 |
| 1995 | 26 | 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL | The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95 | 103 |
| 1995 | 20 | Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT | WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 | 104 |
| 1995 | 30 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995 | 100 |
| 1995 | 20 | Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) | Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 | 95 |
| 1995 | 29 | WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA | WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 | 104 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 129 | WHFS | WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) | 500 |
| 1999 | 1351 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1351 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1353 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1352 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 1337 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1337 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1338 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2016 | 426 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2021 | 726 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 43 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 798 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 789 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2025 | 299 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s | 500 |
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