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It's Carnival Time

Rating:
3.5 / 5

Words & Music: Ben Weisman Sid Wayne

Come on kids from eight to eighty
Hey there mister bring your lady
There's a big show on the inside
It's carnival time

Popcorn, peanuts and cotton candy
Pink lemonade that's dan-dan-dandy
Be a big shot for a dollar
It's carnival time

Roustabouts are roustabout'n
And there's happy shouts, children shoutin
If you've got doubts quit your doubtin'
There's thrills, it's spice
It's cheap at half the price
So don't be bashful, buy a ticket
Get the habit never kick it
Hit the band there, don't just stand there
It's carnival time

Roustabouts are roustabout'n
And there's happy shouts, children shoutin
If you've got doubts quit your doubtin'
There's thrills, it's spice
It's cheap at half the price
So don't be bashful, buy a ticket
Get the habit never kick it
Hit the band there, don't just stand there
It's carnival time
It's carnival time

Recordingdate: 1964/03/03, first released on: Roustabout (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of It's Carnival Time:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(sax)

Availability

Find available albums with It's Carnival Time.

Deano1 wrote on March 05, 2010
Situational movie fare from the movie "Roustabout". This one fits the movie, just like "Take Me To The Fair" in IHATWF, but it is the second worst tune on the album. 2 1/2 stars, but closer to just two stars.
GEORGE (GK) wrote on May 13, 2011
Such a fun happy song and it worked well in the movie.
ElvisSacramento wrote on June 13, 2013
This is such a marvelous, catchy, fun and underrated Elvis movie song and I've never skipped it. It's from my fifth most favorite Elvis movie "Roustabout". I like every song from the "Roustabout" soundtrack.
TBG wrote on June 13, 2013
I'm sorry, but this is one of those songs that makes it embarassing to be an Elvis-fan. Yeah, it's a situational movie fare, and some of those are nice, but this one is just embarassing I think. We're talking about the king of rockn'roll here, what did they do to him....
Gorse wrote on June 13, 2013
An energetic happy film tune that fits nicely into the designated movie scene. I know its not comparable to his many great songs but I don't have a problem listening to it when in the mood. The rock n' roll king dabbled in many genre and I, because of that marvellous voice, enjoy most (not all) of the output
dgirl wrote on June 13, 2013
Only an Elvis fan can love stuff like this. I wonder how many other music fans were grooving to this in 1964?
Great Dane wrote on June 13, 2013
A three star song on a #1 album, i guess more people out there like this better than most fans here.
NONE000000 wrote on June 13, 2013
Here in New Orleans, we have a song with the same title, but not the same song. They play it all Mardi Gras long... I think the Roustabout soundtrack is a pretty good one, and it went to number 1 on the charts. The music seemed slightly better integrated into the film than most. And most of the songs were a little better than usual. Still, this is hardly a great song, but it works. And I don't find this one embarrassing, for what it is: a carnival barker's come-on set to music. If this was on the radio, and someone introduced it as "And here is the greatest singer of all time, singing about some pink lemonade that's dan-dan-dandy..." ....well I guess I could see the embarrassment then, particularly next to other music of 1964. But it fits into the movie just fine. And the movie, like the soundtrack, really is a better Elvis film than many.
bajo wrote on August 29, 2015
I think Pricilla once stated something like: The soundtracks were not Elvis Music. It was music that Elvis were contracted to do. He didn't have much influence on what to sing. That said, I found most soundtrack albums back then listenable or even good to listen to. Harum Scarum was the first LP I had doubt about. Carnival Time is just a short musical scene in the Movie, it was not meant to be rock'n roll! To me, be biggest problem with most of the content on the soundtracks was the shortening of songs, or the songs themselves so short they faded before you could get into them. Even though I've always like this soundtrack album it prooves my point about playing time. It must be the shortest playing time soundtrack album?
Morris wrote on March 23, 2016
I like it but the worst with the movie soundtracks is the poor mixing and bad technical sound
Jim Davidson wrote on August 13, 2016
Aside from Stay Away Joe, Paradise Hawaiian Style and The Trouble with Girls, I love the movies. Most of the songs were not meant to be played on the radio; they simply fit the movie. It's Carnival Time is not on the top of my playlist, but I think it's great when I watch the movie on DVD,
Milky White Way wrote on February 13, 2023
I accept it for what it is but I’ve never once thought “I think I’ll play It’s carnival time.” Probably the weakest song in Roustabout.
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