Why is “Carnival Barker” an instrumental song?
A 1:22 fragment of “Carnival Barker” appears on Ursa Major as an instrumental coda bringing the album to a close. The song has a fairly long history: It surfaced during the recording sessions for Out of the Vein in 2002, and was slated for inclusion on the aborted “Symphony of Decay” EP a year later. This seven-minute instrumental song was later “released” as a free MP3 on Third Eye Blind’s website. In the lead-up to Ursa Major, there was conflicting speculation over what incarnation of the song would be included and whether or not it would be an instrumental track. An instrumental version was ultimately chosen because Stephan Jenkins was dissatisfied with his delivery of the lyrics he had ultimately penned for the song.9 A full-length lyrical version of “Carnival Barker” is currently slated for inclusion on the band’s forthcoming companion Ursa Minor release.
