Tom Springfield wrote this for the Seekers. He based the melody on the Russian folk song Stenka Razin (or Stenka Rasin). Stenka Razin was a Cossack rebel leader who led a major Cossack and peasant rebellion on Russia's southeastern frontier in 1670-71. He has been celebrated in a number of songs. Pete Seeger in 1953 sang an English-language version of Stenka Razin, which may have been the version known by Tom Springfield.
Judith Durham: "That was a great song that still lives today. It is a perennial favorite and it is sung at weddings. We were very, very blessed to have met Tom Springfield as he never compromised the integrity of the group and he never got us to do things that we didn't want to do." (quote from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh)
This was the Seekers best selling single in the UK Selling 1,400,000It has become an Australian tradition for The Seekers to sing "The Carnival is Over" at the close of sporting events. Unfortunately they were unable to do so at the end of the closing ceremony for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, as Judith Durham had broken her hip and was not able to take part.
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