A couple of weeks ago someone was looking for a Carnival song in English. (Carnival is a celebration held in many countries before Lent.)

David Solomons was kind enough to send a nice little song he wrote. It was performed by some children in London in 1979, for a local Carnival that was taking place there. Here’s what David wrote about the song…

We did have a “Carnival” in East London, but it wasn’t Italian style, just a lot of floats (i.e. miniature stages on top of vehicles going around Victoria Park). At that time I was living in the Coventry Cross estate near Bromley by Bow and we had our own float. The idea behind the song “We’re all going to the Carnival” is to mention all the countries represented in that multicultural part of East London, but the name of the estate “Coventry Cross” is the phrase most often heard in the actual rehearsal recording! Ah well!

Even though David’s song mentions local places, I think it’s a catchy tune and that people can adapt the basic song to where they live.

Here’s an MP3 Recording of We Are Going to the Carnival, followed by the lyrics.

We Are Going to the Carnival
by David Solomons

Choir 1
We are going to the Carnival, Carnival, Carnival
We are going to the Carnival, the Carnival today

Choir 2
Coventry Cross, Bromley by Bow
Coventry Cross, Bromley by Bow, we are here

Choir 3
[Names of lots of countries including Scotland, Italy and Trinidad all of which are countries the children’s parents came from – all the children were living on the Coventry Cross estate, Bromley by Bow (East London) at the time of the recording (in 1979).]

Here’s a photo of some of the kids who sang this song…

I asked David about the tradition of Carnival in England in general. Here’s what he had to say…

I don’t think the Carnival idea was ever particularly big in the UK, although I suppose Shrove Tuesday (i.e. Mardi Gras) was important in the old days. I was quite surprised when the idea was put to me back in 1979 and I never came across it as a local festival subsequently.

Here’s a photo of a mural the kids made for the Carnival…

If you’re interested in seeing photos of Bromley-by-Bow, you can visit Historic Locations in Bromley-by-Bow.

The Carnival song (rehearsal!) was performed in 1979 by the children of the Coventry Cross estate in Bromley by Bow, London, with the assistance and organisational skills of Sister Helen, to whom much thanks is given. Composed and accompanied by David W Solomons.

Many thanks to David W. Solomons for his recording of We Are Going to the Carnival. David is a one man choral singer who has been playing instruments and singing for over 30 years. Here’s a link to David Solomons’ Home Page where you can here more of his music!

Come visit Mama Lisa’s Carnival Blog Page for more about the Carnival and some Carnival Songs.