| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – O'Malley's Bar Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| @[discorporated:5698] I love this interpretation of the winged imagery. I never considered "flew about the murder" as a reference to anything but his act. And I have to concur, it's a great that's one of the greatest lyrics of the song, I especially like the rhyme. | |
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – O'Malley's Bar Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| Why thank you for your kind assessment. I hadn't been on this site in years, and I logged in to see some lyrics. I'm not even sure if they had this reply feature back then. | |
| The 69 Eyes – Frankenhooker Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Well, if Jyrki said that, as others have mentioned above, the films he's talking about is Frank Henelotter's 1990 horror comedy Frankenhooker. When his fiance is run over by a lawn mower, a young (mad) scientist rebuilds her using parts of New York hookers that he murders with super crack. She goes haywire and starts acting out the memories and habits of the hooker's she's made from. Honestly not a lot going on lyrically to support the songs is ABOUT Frankenhooker, but that's certainly where the title and some of the imagery is coming from. | |
| Emilie Autumn – Opheliac Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Indeed. Always more than one way to read anything, and i enjoyed reading yours. | |
| The Boys Next Door – After a Fashion Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Late? ha! Never too late. I actually forgot i posted this. Yeah, i think he says all for you as well. But thats not a word, unless he's saything the word, whatever it may be, is "all for you" ...that makes sense. Either way. Alright! I'm not the only person who appears to like this song. Always a good feeling. |
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| Jeremy Wallace – Johnny Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Now that's what i call a post. I agree. There's a whole lot of "moving on" going on here, and that will be going on after, but to me, that's even more heartbreaking. She knows what she's going to do, she knows why, and she knows why it's a terrible thing to do, but damnit...it's her Johnny, and sorry Charlie, but i gots to go. And what can Charlie do? He didn't even have a chance. It was gone the minute it was there, never his to begin with, and he just didn't know it and wasn't even able to mount a defense. She's just gone. Also agreed, its his command of language that truly sets the song apart. The whole verse about her watching the leaf through the window is perhaps my favorite. Perfect writing, perfectly sang. Glove compartment! Of course....it's like looking at an image you can't make out until someone points it. out and then you can't NOT see it after. How did i hear club compartment? I'll be honest, it made no sense when i typed it and i didn't even know what it meant. But, duh, retardo, in his truck, theres a lease in the glove compartment....pardon me,....i'm just an idiot. haha. Enjoyed the quotations. Good stuff. And yes, Dylan and Cohen are both geniuses. Quite fond of Nick Cave and Tom Waits as well in the songwriting department. |
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| Emilie Autumn – Opheliac Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I wasn't suggesting that living wasn't complicated, and that reality doesn't throw shit at you, but what do you want to do? Sit around being depressed because you're so much more intelligent that you can see these things other, less intelligent, people simply can not (this statement alone, dripping with arrogance) What is it? The world lies? Fuckin' a it does, and i'm not sure how much intelligence you need to see that. So lets all sit around and be despondent, right? I ain't the one telling you it's gonna be alright, but it can start getting a whole lot better if take your brain out of that self centered mind frame this songs appears to be rising up from. The irresponsibility people have for their own actions these days is appalling. Perhaps she's being sarcastic (doubtful) but its when people start identifying with this, draping its meaning across themselves proudly that leaves me flabbergasted. All instances of "you" are in the general sense, Matt. I wasn't meaning you specifically. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Your Funeral, My Trial Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Just had an after thought. Your question about the writing of dark and light, both so convincingly, is best answered by Nick himself. For this, i strongly suggest (for many reasons) trying to get a hold of his lecture album "The Secret Life of the Love Song/ The Flesh Made Word" Two separate lectures...the first one (featuring some simplistic and fantastic versions of some wonderful songs....namely sad waters)discusses the writing of love songs. Nick breaks down his philosophy on the matter and sheds a lot of interesting insight into his writing. I always come back to this quote "The love song must resonate with the whispers of sorrow and the echos of grief. The writer who refuses to explore the darker regions of the heart will never be able to write convincingly about the wonder, the magic and the joy of love. For just as goodness can not be trusted unless it has breathed the same air as evil (the metaphor of Christ crucified between two criminals comes to mind here) so within the fabric of the love song, within its melody, its lyric, one must sense an acknowledgment of it capacity for suffering" Amazing album....definitely give it a listen. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Do You Love Me? Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I believe this is more personal than fictional. I just read an interview where he passingly mentions that this is a personal song, and it makes sense. I don't know that anyone's being killed (perhaps hard to believe from a Nick Cave song) but i just don't see it. I think niahm's close with the mental disorder. Always got the image of hospital bands from "crazy braclets" and the sweeping highs and lows of this woman seem to suggest this as well. She is many conflicting things, perhaps at separate times, or simultaneously. Whichever the case, this enigma of a woman is infatuating to him, and he write glorious and terrible things about her. What has always stuck with me most (perhaps in that it's tattooed on me....or maybe thats why i did it...either way) is the line "all things move toward their end. i knew before i met her that i would lose her" I know this feeling, and its so remarkably and simply stated here. This intangible sensation you can't place that this great thing is fleeting, and the recognition of that at the outset. Prophetic and sad. She was a demon, and an angel, and in the end, she is a memory and a song. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Your Funeral, My Trial Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Don't be so hard on yourself. If you live in the US, Nick and his Bad Seeds have gone mostly unheralded her since the 80's. They're not a band your average person is bumping in their car, to be sure. Better late than never, as it give you time to soak it all up at once. I have a little blurb on Do You Love Me part 2, but i never took a stab at part 1. I think I'll go do that right now. |
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| Emilie Autumn – Opheliac Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I'll preface this by saying I like Emilie Autumn, and this song. However, listening to this album, more often than not she comes across as pompous, manipulative and arrogant, and this song is a perfect example. It is difficult to say how much of what she writes is autobiographical, but for someone who seems so enamored with herself, it's difficult to believe its less than more. Maybe i'm just a guy here, but when i hear these words it all just sounds like "i'm a liar, and i'm a manipulator, and i will blame everything on you, and i know this and consciously do it, even though i CLAIM to not want to, and maybe you'll just understand it's cause i'm a crazy girl" This type of attitude seems rampant in society these days. I'll self diagnose my faults with fancy terminology (in this case a Shakespearean allusion) but feel no responsibility to change that, for i've owned up it, yet cast it aside because it's "who i am"....I'll tell you them in advance, but it will change nothing, because i will do it anyway, and shame on you for believing i might just not, you silly male. Haha, now watch me do it. Poor you and your heart which was so easy to break anyway. Watch me do that too. Tra la la....i'm just a girl, can't fault me for that. If this is your theme song, i have pity on you. Owning up to hurtful behavior is not a get out of jail free card for playing fast and loose with people. Being attractive and intelligent is not carte blanche for whatever irresponsible nonsense you feel justification for in the face of a world that appears to have no grey area for you to exist in. If you intelligent girls are so depressed by reality, get about the intelligent task of realizing you and only you control your mental quality of life. You want what you want when you want it? Well, sorry but that reality you claim to "recognize" and are so depressed by doesn't allow for that. But you'll get it anyway, right? Or at least lie and put up facades to get it. Attack it. Call me out. It's fine, i expect it, but with all the gushing over this song, i felt a serious reappraisal of its implications was in order. Again, i like this song, and Emilie, but lets get real here, this is no fist raising anthem for a generation of girls to identify with,...and i have a hope somewhere that Emilie herself might agree with that sentiment, if only slightly, or at least be able to understand what i mean. But then again, who am i? Maybe i'm just reading it all wrong. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Faraway, So Close Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Holy no comments batman! For real? God, i love this song. I've had this on a compilation of scattered and unreleased Nick songs from way back, well before the B-Sides album got released, and this has always been one of my most loved tracks on there. This is one of the songs that better be played at my funeral. That and Tom Wait's "Green Grass", and John Prine's "Please Don't Bury Me," and (of course) "Lay Me Low." And, thanking the man jesus, i have never had anyone terribly close to me die, but when they do, this fucker's getting played by me and my guitar for them without question, and probably much to the chagrin of anyone in attendance. A great song about death, and reassuring ourselves about it. "Your days are all through dying, they gave all their ghosts away. So kiss close all of your wounds, and call living life a day." So sadly sweet. Oh and here's a weird thing. When i got the B-Sides album, i was surprised that "Faraway, So Close" was not on there. Disappointing, but then, at the end of the 1st CD, there was this song called "What Can I Give You?" that i had never heard sounding almost exactly like "Faraway, So Close." What's the story there? Which was written first, and why are there two? It really tripped me out and i thought i was crazy. Little Ghost Song, off the 3rd CD is similar in that respect. Odd stuff. For the record, this song is way better than "What Can I Give You?" - sorry Nick and Co., just my feeling. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Where the Wild Roses Grow (feat. Kylie Minogue) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Why are there more comments? Well, because i think this was their most high profile album, specifically because of this song, and to a different extent, this video, the only one i ever saw get any real air time. I'm tired of this album being sidelined because of the "novelty" of it. With songs like this "Song of Joy," "Curse of Millhaven," "O'Mally's Bar," i think it's just as good as any other Bad Seeds albums, certainly better than anything that has followed the "Best Of" album. Abattoir Blues? Seriously? You wanna stack that up against this album? And what of "Henry's Dream"; a stronger album than both "Tender Prey" or "Your Funeral.." in my opinion. I love the old shit too, but as albums, i don't think they were as strong as his post rehab work. I think "Let Love In" and "The Good Son" are both stronger than anything before the rehab, on the whole, as albums. Of course, for my money, their finest album is still "Boatman's Call" and people hate that album for some good forsaken reason, so i guess my opinion goes flying out the window at that point, right? Oh yeah, love this song by the way. Uh, he kills her, she doesn't appear to realize she's dead. Yes, he's a psycho. No, i don't believe he raped her corpse (where the fuck did that come from people?) I particularly enjoy the fact that all she hears is "a muttered word" .... doesn't even hear what he says. Beautiful. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Loom of the Land Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Hmmm, i never took this song as being particularly sinister. Nothing about it struck me as such. I'll say, the Lolita reference is a bit unnerving, but the whole idea that he is a pedophile isn't working for me. If the knife is significant, and only mentioned once, and if the Lolita reference is also significant (which is debatable, considering the nature of the quote) then the line "The wind it bit bitter, for a boy of no means" should also be significant. They are both young, not just the girl. Infact, the only impression we get of her being young is a small breast, and that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with age. I think the knife, like many of the strange details that accompany the characters from this album, serves to describe the boy. He is poor, has no shoes, and carries a knife possibly for protection, or maybe hunting. Once the idea that he kills her is tossed out there, the whole chorus becomes somewhat spooky. "Please don't cry.....now go to sleep" .....eerie. I guess the benevolence in me never read this song as being violent, and even after hearing the claim, i'm still not sure it is. The "i'll never bring you harm" line could serve that point, but that just sounds like the kind of thing a killer in a Nick Cave songs might say right before he kills someone. The untrodden path might lend to a murder scene, but i'm still not convinced, especially since they are both there at the end. I think it's just a sad song about a poor boy and his girl, walking along the beach, staring at the moon, maybe I'm just naive and romantic. |
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| Shadows Fall – Of One Blood Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Thats funny, cause this song just played on my shuffle on the way to work, and i pretty much just came here to mention how nasty this solo is. Self righteousy metal/harcore lyrics.....they're everywhere. Satisfaction is the Death of Desire is filled with them...not saying thats bad or anything (well, it can get a little tiring) but it's not so shrouded in symbolism or metaphor. Get tight with your crew, protect each other. Those who've fallen off - well, forgive them - and fuck all this shit about what we're "supposed" to do or be.....cause that ain't metal. You could probably make an argument for it being about the industry....recording wise. Record label values and goals. Sticking to you mates but not holding it against those who've compromised for money or fame. Thats a stretch though maybe. |
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| John Prine – Christmas In Prison Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| "Old mother nature's got nothin' on me..." John Prine, breaking your heart once more....god this is a sad song. | |
| John Prine – Blue Umbrella Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I totally agree as with you guys. But, it did take me a while on the site before i got over to John, as much as i love him. I was told by the guy who introduced me to John Prine that he wrote this song when he was a teenager. Was never one of my friend's favorites - can't understand why, because i love this song. Particularly the concept of asking for an extra season to figure out the other 4, because wouldn't that just give you 3 more months you didn't truly understand either? Love John Prine. |
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| Leonard Cohen – Iodine Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Woa, seriously? Nothing? That's surprising. I mean, i can understand why people might be a bit put off by this album, but this song is amazing and I can't believe I'm taking the first stab at it. This is nice - clean slate. To me (cause lets be honest, unless a songwriter has gone on record about what a certain song is about, it's all interpretation) the really simplified explanation seems to be, this guy f'ed it up, and badly, and everything about the situation and her just points out all his shortcomings and flaws - highlights them and draws them into sharp relief - like iodine on the skin. Leonard, no stranger to innuendo (and some of the finest i might add) even gets a little going here - maybe their problems were predominantly of a sexual nature....maybe....doesn't have to be....but there's definitely a possibility. A great tune for a repentant man at a bar, wishing he hadn't a said what he said, or did what he done, or had what he up and lost and there's no one else to blame but himself. |
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| The Magnetic Fields – Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Totally cheating, without question. Great song though. All the real possessive folks join hands, this is your anthem. |
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| The Magnetic Fields – All My Little Words Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| goddamn you magnetic fields for your truth and sadness. I love this song. It's still early, but I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of theirs. I think judahnielsen nailed it on this one and doesn't that just make it so much sadder? Everyone's right on this one....and i don't know if i have anything to add. Sorry. I get scared sometimes that i'm gonna wind up in this song.....doesn't make me like it any less. Maybe more though. | |
| The Magnetic Fields – Papa Was A Rodeo Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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So sad, and yes the ambiguity is beautiful. If bright-eyes is taking the song as a the two came together and left with each other, then i guess it's LESS sad - but the idea alone of finding someone you connect with and they'll just be a-moving on down the road tomorrow regardless is sad in an of itself. It makes me worry i'll have to here some girl tell me her "papa was a rodeo" and break my heart. I'm not sure myself if they go off together. I'm torn. There's plenty to support this theory. But i love sad songs, and I want them to be as sad as they can be and if they go off together its less sad, and that makes me sad. So maybe that makes the song more sad for me? Now i'm just confused. I love this song. It is sad. |
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| The Magnetic Fields – No One Will Ever Love You Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I was recently introduced to Magnetic Fields and this was one of the first tunes that really hit me - almost immediately - particularly since the girl who introduced them to me is brutally honest. It makes me sad to think that some people (maybe even she) believes that people will never love her for her honesty. It's a wonderful quality, especially when it's "to a fault." Maybe the truth hurts, but lies hurt more once the truth is revealed, and you could have just skipped the middle man and the added hurt of being lied too. I've also been accused of being too nice and for not having a "sense of indignation" (almost to the exact sentence....weird.) Maybe the person is question (the person who's gone) said this to her. Maybe she's saying it to the person. It's hard to say. I think we have to assume she's saying this to the person. But it seems odd to me, because usually people who are honest have a hard time also being considered "nice" - so that's kind of confusing. xdvr seems to be onto something, but it don't know if it's as cut and dry as all that. It's the "you're not hear to make my sad songs more sincere line" that throws on this meaning. Maybe the other person hit the singer with some truth, and like mattzillaman says, she's now bitter and she's decided to attack their honesty. Either way, sad stuff here. Love this song. |
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| Jeremy Wallace – Johnny Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Alright! They posted it! Tried to find lyrics to identify the word in that "club compartment" line. Don't know what that is, but it's the only lyric in the song i can't make out, and I was given Jeremy's fantastic album by a friend years ago, and it lacked any liner notes. Anyway... This is perhaps one of the saddest songs i think I've ever heard. The lyrics alone are sad enough, but when you hear this song played and sung, its like having your heart torn out of your chest by a slow contraption designed for torture by Satan. With each passing verse it just hurts more and more and your heart goes out to each character, particularly Charlie. If you've ever been in a situation even close to this you know the heartache on display here. I don't even care if you were the "Johnny" of this situation, or the girl writing, or "Charlie" himself - there's simply just no winners here, if you ask me. It certainly sucks more for Charlie than Johnny, or even the girl, but this girl is gonna live with that guilt for a long time - Johnny well, that kind sucks getting bagged for something you didn't do (which i believe is the implication) and to have your true love torn from you and for her to go off and find someone new. I hope those two find true happiness together with their baby (perhaps the most heart wrenching line in the song) and that Charlie can put it all back together eventually. Poor Charlie. I know it may seem silly for me to be carrying on as though these characters as real people (and who knows, maybe they are) but that's that just a testament to Jeremy Wallace's songwriting. This song will hit you in every valve of your heart, and if it doesn't, i question the integrity of your heart and your status as a human and music lover. Jeremy Wallace is a fantastic songwriter and musician. His albums "My Lucky Day" (which Johnny is off of) and "She Used To Call Me Honey" are both incredible. I wish he would get some more exposure, and I'm just trying to do my part. Get the word out on this guy, if you are into country, folk or just plain old fashioned great songwriting, Jeremy Wallace is your man. Look for more soon. |
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| William Elliott Whitmore – Porchlight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Another great WEW song here. I wish the word would get around on this guy, because he's great. Straight forward folk song. A proud farmer used to ask his wife to leave the porch light on so he could see coming out of the fields late at night. He's stricken ill, and his dying wish is for her to continue to leave it on for him in memory. A sweet and heartbreaking song if i've ever heard one. |
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| William Elliott Whitmore – One Man's Shame Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Damn! I can't believe i'm the first guy to comment on this tune. Saw William Elliot Whitmore open up for Clutch at the Roxy several years ago. He kept a packed house of drunken rockers electrified with just his foot, a banjo and his voice. Amazing performer - you could have heard a pin drop. This is definitely my favorite WEW song though - well, so far. Don't know that there's a whole lot riding under here. To me it sounds like the warnings from a dangerous man. Could be speaking to the boy who's strayed from the fold (i think thats what "foal" should be.) Perhaps he's wronged this man in his straying and the man is telling him to get lost before he gets dead, Head to the woods, just don't fuck with the water or the trees and we'll be cool. |
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| Ramones – Pet Sematary Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A karaoke favorite of mine. Love this song. Pretty straight forward stuff here - wasn't looking for insight, just felt like checkin' out the comments. I don't know this for a fact - but i'm imagining if King commissioned them to write the song, he probably did it before they filming began. Meaning they probably wrote and recorded the song before the movie was finished and hence used the book to based the lyrics around. It's cooler that way anyway - but that makes some kinda sense i think. No? |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Do You Love Me? Pt. 2 Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I tried to find the article i read this in, but this was apparently based on a book Nick was reading, which had a scene where a child is molested in a movie theater while watching king kong. The song in it's entirety appears to be more about the repercussions of the molestation/rape on the child later in life than the act itself - though we do spend a lot of time hearing about the act. For a while i didn't piece this together. A friend of mine shed some light and it immediately took on a whole new life. If you've never heard the song knowing this is what it's about - you just have to re listen - right now. Click open iTunes and listen to it - simple lines like "my handsome little body, oddly propped" and "the coins in my pocket jingle jangled" become horrible images so effective and disturbing that i am almost ashamed to say what an amazing song this is. He never has to even mention anything specifically (perhaps a testament to the power of letting readers/listeners/viewers fill in the blanks) and you feel as dirty as if you were the man with girlish eyes with breath of death and vanilla. This is the kind of song he just doesn't write anymore - and with obvious reasons. I don't know the sort of toll this takes on a mans soul writing this kind of song - but it truly is a great piece of song writing, underscored beautifully by the ominous and frightening music from the Bad Seeds. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – I Let Love In Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Yep, pretty much one of Nick's greats - but honestly there are so many - but more honestly, however many there are - this is definitely up there. No nonsense here - no beating around of the bush - just watch your ass pal, cause Nick's been burned and he's gonna tell you like it is - so you better get some ear shit happening cause it ain't worth it to let these words hit the floor unheeded. "Darling you're the punishment for all my former sins" - i don't ever wish to hear that from a lovers lips. Awesome. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – I Had a Dream, Joe Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I'm with this guy - why the hell hasn't anyone commented on this song? This is one of the best songs on one of their best albums. This song should be called "I Had A Horribly Vivid Nightmare, Joe" cause that's what this sounds like. Great imagery going on here - "A society of whores stuck needles in an image of me" "a shadowy jesus flittered from tree to tree" and lets face it - this is just a rocking song. It's a dream, so i don't know how much of it should make sense - maybe these guys used to be pimps - and one decided it wasn't for him anymore - i really don't know. Apparently Joe has kept in touch, but the narrator has sort of maybe locked himself away and tried ignoring the evil Joe - who's mere memory is like a burden to the narrator who has horrible dreams because of what they used to do. Either way, kick ass tune. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Deanna Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I appreciate you're interpretation - i hadn't ever thought about him possibly being dead and in hell - it actually sheds a whole new light on the song - whether this is what Nick means, i haven't the foggiest. My question though is in regards to your details - "the happy days spent with his lover killing blacks.." what!? Where in the name of creeping jesus did you get that from? I almost did a spit take all over my monitor when i read that. The only thing i can even begin to imagine led you to such a conclusion is the line "around your Ku-Klux furniture" Which, if that's the case, i think you're taking the line way to literally - which to me is a funny image. I'm not sure what literal "ku-klux furniture" would be - whether or not the klan specially makes racist ottomans and chaise lounges is not in my bank of knowledge. I think her furniture was just covered in white sheets and Nick - being creative - calls in Ku-Klux furniture, because, well, it sounds cooler than "you had a bunch of white sheets all over your couches" - her home appears to be in disarray - moths had invaded the clock - there's no carpet - perhaps she was squatting - maybe she was planning on moving - maybe she was just poor and that why she's doing this job with the narrator - or running off with him. Whatever the case may be - i definitely don't think these two were running around killing blacks. Great song though, and i love the fact that he refers to his gun as "This little angel" - that sort of association is frightening. Oh and hey this is fun, i just remembered this - has anyone ever seen the video for "live seeds" when about 2 bars into this song Nick falls clean off the stage and they just cut to the next song? it's hilarious. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – (I'll Love You) Till the End of the World Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I enjoy this song - one of what I call "Nick's Talkie Songs" - where he does more talking than singing. It works here though, i'm not trying to bad-mouth it. I've never seen the Wender's film this is from - but perhaps that could shed a bit of light on the whole pale hair and eyes woman - if any of this imagery is even present in the film. I would imagine it's not - which won't help anyone. And hey! It wasn't his fault the blind pencil seller's dog ran under the wheels of the car - well, unless HE blew up the building - which i think he might have been at least involved in somehow - so if thats true, i guess it's TECHNICALLY his fault - but shit man, he's was just trying the peace the fuck out - give the guy a break. And I'll point this out because on lots of the other songs people have mentioned repeated themes and lyrics - if anyone interested in that - this songs offers up "a knife in my jeans" not word for word but close to the line "with a knife in his jeans" from "Loom of the Land" off "Henry's Dream." |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Jesus of the Moon Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Ahh, a new Bad Seeds album - always look forward to this, but have been largely disappointed with the last two efforts. They finally seem to have found groove as a band in Blixa's absence with this album though. And I think this song here is the best thing going on DLD. Lyrically, Nick is commanding in a way he hasn't been since, i'd say NMSWP. Muscially this is haunting in a way they haven't been since - hell, i'll say Boatman's for this one. Is that flute going there during the solo? You guys made a flute eerie - well done. I hate reposting lyrics in comments - particularly if it's a huge block - so i'll just say the whole verse about whether the voices of the living can be heard by the dead is amazing. Have you ever just felt like it wasn't gonna work out. That something was seriously broken and beyond repair - not exclusively but perhaps specifically with a loved one - maybe not even a loved one - maybe just someone you had a one night stand with - as i'm not sure there's much indication here as to the extent of their relasonship - if so, then this song will nail your heart to the back of your rib cage and make you grab a claw hammer and remove it yourself. And while you're at it make you realize you need some fucking change too - so go make it happen. Thanks Nick - i'm working on it. As far as themes and repeated lyrics, i have "All things move toward their end" tattooed on my arm, and that puppy shows up on 2 separate albums! I love that he reuses lyrics and imagery - Tupelo is practically the first third of his novel "And the Ass Saw the Angel," (which should be read by any die hard nick fans, and or fans of good literature.) |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – The Curse of Millhaven Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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If you come to song meanings looking for answers to questions, i find it helps to read what people have written. As posted above - a weevil is a small beetle - which makes the phrase sensible. I just like the idea of a small toddler that is palpably evil - just something about their eyes or demeanor which foreshadows great malevolence - like the movie the Bad Seed (no pun intended here, but interesting non-the-less.) It's written as weavil, and once again I'm not in front of the booklet right now, so I'm not sure what that has to say on the matter - but i don't know if weavil is a real word. But, weevil definitely is. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – And No More Shall We Part Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I thoroughly agree with mackka on this one - where they hell are you guys getting murder, much less murder suicide. It seems murder ballads has done it's damage, but lets be fair here - nick's been killing chicks in songs long before murder ballads - 6" Gold Blade comes to mind - Your Funeral, My Trial - hell he even covered Hey Joe. Granted he's written more plain old murder ballads before Murder Ballads, but there's been some ladies in there too. But i digress.... To me this song seems like a negative take on marriage as a whole - similar to what appars66 is saying. Look at the language he's using. "Locked upon this finger" "contracts are drawn up" "hatchets are buried" - perhaps its him hoping to trap her and never feel lonely again - but someone who's stoked about marriage certainly isn't going to talk about it in such a way. Even the phrase No more shall we part itself almost seems like a prison sentence. Who wants that? No one in there right mind anyway. To never part from someone is either the wish of a seriously maladjusted individual or someone who's trying to point out a significant flaw in either marriage or simply just monogamy itself. I think this guy regrets this decision - whether he felt it was ever a good idea or not, i'm not sure, but he's certainly not happy with it now. Nick's always petitioning god for no good reason - hell this albums full of it, so i don't know that there's anything overly significant about that bit, but maybe i'm wrong - i usually am. Either way, this song is not the love song it would cleverly disguise itself as. |
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| The Boys Next Door – After a Fashion Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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i came here looking for the word that Nick's tears spell out, but there weren't even any Boys Next Door songs, much less lyrics - nor anywhere else that i could find - so i thought i'd post what i could decipher. Since no lyrics exist, i imagine no one has looked for them, so i doubt i'll get any response to what the word (or words might be) - but if someone knows them, please comment and i will make the necessary corrections. That being said - this is perhaps my favorite of the Boys Next Door tunes, at least off of Door, Door anyway. I said Nick above, though i imagine this could be a Roland S. Howard song - i'd believe either wrote it - though it seems more likely to me Nick Cave penned this for some reason. The phrase after a fashion means not quite, almost, or not well. In this sense i guess Nick (or Roland) is saying this girl is not really the answer, then again, he's not really the question - so maybe that makes them both right. This definition doesn't jive as well with the opening line - almost is the mood that takes him? Maybe the phrase has another meaning. Perhaps the word i can't decipher has some sway in this matter. The thin boy in dark clothes falling over pianos sounds like Nick as well. He appears clumsy, as if the girl makes him nervous, though he attempts to play it off. Whether his literally falling over this piano, or just trying to play a song and his nerves are causing his playing to be fumbled is up for grabs i think. I've written to much as usual. And i imagine no one will read this anytime soon. Anyway, hope you got some answers to a song you may enjoy. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Your Funeral, My Trial Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Wow, another one i can't believe has no comments on - on of my favorites here, but alas a song thats true meaning constantly eludes me. This man, the crooked man, is probably a killer. I say this simply because of the title - there's a funeral and then his trial - but perhaps thats taking it too literally. Next it seems like that nightfall is calling to him. Its takes off its trappings of the day and the stars wink at him, which is kind of sinister in this context, perhaps he sees the time is now appropriate for mayhem. I'm fairly sure in the actual song (though i'm pretty sure this is how they are infact printed) he sings "into gullies damp with clovers" either way, i'm not really sure whats happening here. Mary's could be women of virtue who then turned out to be vile creatures - and then the moon mocks him and these winking stars now smile at him - its time for some killing. Here we have probably the more overt of the 3 stanzas. We have a lamb - which to me says sacrifice - probably gonna kill her - sounds like he's pretty upset at her - she was a multi face, crooked bitch - in his estimation a "whore" and a "monger of pain" - and saw the moon become a fang is a great image - and then her untimely demise. This is all pretty much face value though - i would ask someone else to knock some ideas around, but if no one has commented yet - i doubt anyone will. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Stranger Than Kindness Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song makes me want to have dirty sex in a seedy motel room with a girl i've never met. And god would i love to hear this song actually sung by Anita...that would be wonderful. I pretty much agree with stormcloud except for the carelessly bit. In this case i think carelessly is modifying "close" in that he is holding her too closely for his own good - perhaps trying to elicit some emotional attachment from the situation which would be a careless move on his part. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Watching Alice Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I gotta say, Nick Cave is a creep - plain and simple. A weird stalking, voyeuristic creepazoid - ahh but i love it! I like madmanmunt's assertion that this could be Alice Liddell, which i never thought of. I also agree that Tom Wait's album Alice is brilliant - because it is. I was about to type that however, i didn't know why Alice Liddell would be a nurse - and then i realized that i added that part myself - for years - in my head. The uniform could be a school girl uniform, and i simply had just pictured her as being a nurse for some reason, weird. So yeah, i don't see why it couldn't be - seems like an interesting take on it. A bit more creepy now - i was always attracted to Alice (maybe cause i thought she was a nurse) and now that she could be a child that's gone for me. Thanks a lot pal! |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Watching Alice Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I gotta say, Nick Cave is a creep - plain and simple. A weird stalking, voyeuristic creepazoid - ahh but i love it! I like madmanmunt's assertion that this could be Alice Liddell, which i never thought of. I also agree that Tom Wait's album Alice is brilliant - because it is. I was about to type that however, i didn't know why Alice Liddell would be a nurse - and then i realized that i added that part myself - for years - in my head. The uniform could be a school girl uniform, and i simply had just pictured her as being a nurse for some reason, weird. So yeah, i don't see why it couldn't be - seems like an interesting take on it. A bit more creepy now - i was always attracted to Alice (maybe cause i thought she was a nurse) and now that she could be a child that's gone for me. Thanks a lot pal! |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – O'Malley's Bar Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Arguably Nick Cave the songwriter at his finest - certainly at his most brutal and violent. One of 3 major reasons Murder Ballads should not be regarded as some sort of throwaway novelty album. He rhymes grief with banana leaf for god sakes - thats a master at work. I have to respond to TOMMOs breakdown of the fourth stanza, because it struck me as a huge stretch. It's not the most obvious of things, no - but it's certainly not so vague as to allow for such a wild explaination i don't believe. My hand decided that the time was nigh (the time to kill these cretins - more evidence toward his idea that he has no control and is hence not morally culpable) And for a moment it slipped from view. (off the bar and perhaps into his jacket, or down by his hip) When it returned, it fairly burned with confidence anew (because it was now brandishing the gun it had procured out of view. now, with this gun, his hand felt far more confident than it had empty - more toward this man being a weak coward.) And i don't know that this guys on any sort of drug - he's just snapped - i don't know that he's the angel of death either - i believe he fancies himself as some avenging angel (hence all the references) which goes hand in hand with his vanity. And for fun, since he was counting on his fingers, i had to do this after the first few listen through but he tallies 12 i believe (correct me if i'm wrong) 10 shootings, 1 throat crush and a bludgeoning by ashtray. Cold blooded murder never sounded so awesome! |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Lay Me Low Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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1 of 5 (and number 1 on that list) of songs i want played at my funeral. Amazing song. Did anybody ever catch that sopranos promo right before the last season where they showed everyone's death scene with this song playing in the background. I think you can youtube it - do so - its fantastic - even if you don't care for the show - i couldn't believe it when i heard "their gonna lay me low" start up at the beginning of it - i damn near lost my mind. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – The Curse of Millhaven Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This album has a lot of great songs, and this is definitely one of the best. I love the fact that she didn't actually kill little Biko - and that she refuses to take credit for it - whether she believes that is an unethical think to do against fellow murders or whether its because she believes its simply beneath - i prefer the latter - it fits her character better. I'm not in front of the lyric booklet - but i think it should be weevil - which is a little beetle - weavil, i don't know what weavil is - i don't think it's a word. I may be wrong though - either way, i think that's my favorite line. No hidden meanings here, just a straightforward, violent and lyrical holocaust of a ballad from cave again - noboby tells a story like him. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – Shadows Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song, while perhaps my all time favorite Gordon Lightfoot song (particularly the version off of songbook, which i like a lot more than the ablum version for some reason) - doesn't confirm itself to me entirely. Clearly this man is returning from traveling, or just not being around for what seems like many years. He is petitioning his ex / old lover in the doorway to look upon him and summon up those old emotions she perhaps held before he went away. It seems like its left unanswered - he seems to tell her what will happen if she kisses him gently where they river runs away....however is see no real indication that they've gone through with it - in fact the somber tone of the song says to me, either she doesn't or at least we are left to wonder like this man, returning to his lover and having to wait. In that case it becomes much sadder, as it is not resolved, and he seems to love her so very much. But who knows what he did and where he went - maybe this guys some kinda jerk and i shouldn't feel bad. Either way, great Gord song from later in his career. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – Song For A Winter's Night Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is probably one of my favorite Gord songs - right up there with Shadows. This song is so wonderful in it's simplicity. As storysongman put it, who hasn't experience this. In fact, i think it's so universal, i experienced this song, almost in its entirety to the word. Everything from the snow the the lamp to the letters that he's reading. So sad, and so sweet all at the same time. "If i could know within my heart, that you were lonely too" is perhaps the most heartbreaking line. My endless thanks to you for this song Mr. Lightfoot. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – Keepin' On Yearning Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It's surprising to me how very few Gord's songs are commented upon. I know a lot of his songs are pretty self explanatory, but come on people - you know you love some Lightfoot - represent. Anyway - i could have sworn he says "Keepin' on smokin', lord i keep on CHOKIN" which made a lot of sense to me, but i'm actually listening to it right now - and i think he does say jokin. I don't know if the Songbook had lyrics - i took the CD's by themselves from my mother - guess i'm the jerk. Pretty straight forward song here from the Gordfoot - guy doesn't felel content and he's gotta keep of doin' what he's been doing - yearning for that thing no one else has found. Which is apparently a girl who makes the sunshine and the rain no longer important - though taken quite literally - this is foolish. No matter how much i love her, it won't make a drought more tolerable - nor would it sustain all the life on this planet should the sun blink out of existence. And yes, i understand, and appreciate the romanticism of such a line - however i do like to have fun with the romantics. For, if it were not for such romantic sentiments, you wouldn't have a woman in "If You Could Read My Mind" all disappointed by her dime store romance hero when he failed like men in the real world do. That same real world where you still need sunshine and rain to survive, much less give you old lady the high hard one. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I don't know why someone would listen to this song because they felt like that let go of the one girl they shouldn't have - i get no sense of regret from this song - at least not about the breakup. It has to be this way, thats the tragedy of the song. Not that he somehow regrets it in retrospect. If you dumped the wrong girl in your life, this ain't the song to make you feel better about i don't think. This guy did the right thing - not necessarily what he wanted to do - but what he had to do - they had something special, and somewhere along the way, it just went wrong - the number # 2 movie queen brings out all the things about him that are great - not the lady he's leaving - that's why he's leaving her. They are both unsatisfied, and if they could read each other minds, they'd realize that and decide its best this way. Also, since the above applies to tsreyb - who saw fit to warn everyone away from this site because people opinions are tarnishing his seemingly flawed view of this song - i'll say this as well. I come here SPECIFICALLY to find out what other people think - thats the whole point. There are a lot of songs in this world i simply don't understand fully, and this site is helpful in that regard. There's a lot of songs vague enough to allow for multiple interpretations, and this site is excellent for that as well. If i don't want to know what people think, i won't ask them, nor will i poke around on a site called SONG MEANINGS.NET knowing full well that's what i'll get. I'd just sit at home listening to these songs and wallowing in my own one sided interpretation of the songs, and not engaging in constructive (most of the time anyway) interaction with other people that all have their own thought and feelings. As for theorist55 comment - i understand what you're saying - i often find these comment boxes are filled too often with needless banter which does not relate to the song - but i do not necessarily mind hearing people talk a bit about what the song means to THEM and often that involves simply talking about why you love it or some girl it reminds you of. Keep on keeping it personal people thats whats makes these songs great and gives them so much meaning in the first place. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Sorrow's Child Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Firstly, i love this song. It's a really sad song on an album that isn't drowning in sorrow - which makes it a standout for me. The piano in this song could, as they say, melt marble. Make me want to burst into tears. As far as the girl commiting suicide - i don't think this song is as cut and dry as that. And if it is that plain, i would imagine the person committing the suicide would be the person giving into sorrow's child, not sorrow's child itself, which i don't believe to be an actual person at all, but the personification of an emotion, or a situation causing you to give into sorrow, and then perhaps ULTIMATELY suicide. Maybe sorrow's child IS suicide - suicide is certainly something you could claim sorrow gives birth to - and in that context the song takes on a slighty different perspective. I don't know though - seems too thin. Would like to hear some other thoughts to that, but i doubt anyone'll be looking up Sorrow's Child anytime soon - people seem to angle more towards his newer songs or his hits. Damn shame - First, Born, Your Funeral and Tender Prey have lots of fantastic songs - back Nick used to write about more interesting things than compiling lists of flowers and philosophers. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Song of Joy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Definitely the killer - that's what makes the song. Without it, it's just some guy telling the tale of his dead family to some other guy in the woods......who cares? It also would remove any tension or suspense this song had if he was NOT the killer. And surprising to me, the thing that proved this to me initially was the one Milton quote no ones mentioned. " 'The sun to me is dark, and silent as the moon'.....do you sir have a room,....are ya beckoning me in?" Or, basically, "here's a John Milton quote Mr. Family man, are you well read, do you understand that i'm admitting to you that i killed my own family? How bout that spare room? You inviting me in here or what? Phenomenal song. |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – John Finn's Wife Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Another reason Henry's Dream is such an amazing album - lyrically - musically its fantastic as well, but it is seriously a lyrical onslaught and this is a prime example. I suppose there could be some metaphor going on here, but to me it just seems like something you could integrate into Murder Ballad (he had so many before the album - someone should release and modified murder ballads which all of them throughout his career) - but i digress.... Nick's telling a story, and a dirty violent one at that - enjoy. i love the last two verses - love ALL the verses - love the song PERIOD |
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Papa Won't Leave You, Henry Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I would argue that this might, lyrically, be Nick finest song - which is a statement considering this is one of his best lyrical albums. As for what it's all about - i think there's a lot of room for interpretation here - to me it sounds like the whole thing is about Brazil and this is a exaggerated amalgamation of the sights and sounds he experienced while living there - with possibly some dream imagery thrown in for good measure. Might not be specifically about Nick personally, but maybe the persona of a haunted man attempting to escape the world in south america and finding it just as bad there, if not worse. But then again, couldn't that be Nick personally? |
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