I think this song is pretty obviously about cocaine. I also think it's not really just about use cocaine considering, as mackka pointed out, Nick Cave doesn't really write songs that are just about how much drugs suck. I think that the biblical referencing with the names relates to a loss of faith due to the drug use, and the isolation mackka pointed out is literal isolation due to friends dying, paranoia from the drug, and spiritual isolation from losing God. The loss of faith motif is continued when the cry for help, "oh my Lord", changes to "save yourself! help yourself!", meaning that God cannot help you until you help yourself, ie kick the drugs.
Which is really over-analyzing things I think, because really this is just what happens when Nick Cave, a complex writer fascinated by religion, writes a song about how much drug use sucks.
@JohnApricot - Nick used to wake up everyday in London, go to church to purge himself of the guilt of being a drug addict. Ten he would walk down to meet his 'man' to score enough heroin (he snorted it) and amphetamine to last him the day. He would go back to his shack of a place back in those days and just do his drugs all day. Wake up, rinse and repeat the day before drug addled behavior. When he met his now wife Susie, she had one condition if she were to marry him. She said "I'll marry...
@JohnApricot - Nick used to wake up everyday in London, go to church to purge himself of the guilt of being a drug addict. Ten he would walk down to meet his 'man' to score enough heroin (he snorted it) and amphetamine to last him the day. He would go back to his shack of a place back in those days and just do his drugs all day. Wake up, rinse and repeat the day before drug addled behavior. When he met his now wife Susie, she had one condition if she were to marry him. She said "I'll marry you as long as you never go back to church." In the song off of the same album 'Oh My Lord'. Nick's first line is as follows:
"I thought I'd take a walk today
It's a mistake I sometimes make
My children lay asleep in bed
My wife lay wide-awake
I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand
Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The Sword of Damocles hanging directly above her...,".
Going out for a walk for a junkie means going out to use. Nick is also quoted saying something to the effect of "I'm not the type of rock artist who will tell you how bad drugs are. They were actually pretty good." The songs he writes speaks about the pitfalls of illicit drugs, but he is not the preacher type against drugs.
I think this song is pretty obviously about cocaine. I also think it's not really just about use cocaine considering, as mackka pointed out, Nick Cave doesn't really write songs that are just about how much drugs suck. I think that the biblical referencing with the names relates to a loss of faith due to the drug use, and the isolation mackka pointed out is literal isolation due to friends dying, paranoia from the drug, and spiritual isolation from losing God. The loss of faith motif is continued when the cry for help, "oh my Lord", changes to "save yourself! help yourself!", meaning that God cannot help you until you help yourself, ie kick the drugs.
Which is really over-analyzing things I think, because really this is just what happens when Nick Cave, a complex writer fascinated by religion, writes a song about how much drug use sucks.
I did cocaine once; never again. I can definitely relate to this song, especially:
I did cocaine once; never again. I can definitely relate to this song, especially:
Doctor, Doctor I'm going mad This is the worst day I've ever had I can't remember Ever feeling this bad
Doctor, Doctor I'm going mad This is the worst day I've ever had I can't remember Ever feeling this bad
@JohnApricot - Nick used to wake up everyday in London, go to church to purge himself of the guilt of being a drug addict. Ten he would walk down to meet his 'man' to score enough heroin (he snorted it) and amphetamine to last him the day. He would go back to his shack of a place back in those days and just do his drugs all day. Wake up, rinse and repeat the day before drug addled behavior. When he met his now wife Susie, she had one condition if she were to marry him. She said "I'll marry...
@JohnApricot - Nick used to wake up everyday in London, go to church to purge himself of the guilt of being a drug addict. Ten he would walk down to meet his 'man' to score enough heroin (he snorted it) and amphetamine to last him the day. He would go back to his shack of a place back in those days and just do his drugs all day. Wake up, rinse and repeat the day before drug addled behavior. When he met his now wife Susie, she had one condition if she were to marry him. She said "I'll marry you as long as you never go back to church." In the song off of the same album 'Oh My Lord'. Nick's first line is as follows:
"I thought I'd take a walk today It's a mistake I sometimes make My children lay asleep in bed My wife lay wide-awake I kissed her softly on the brow I tried not to make a sound But with stony eyes she looked at me And gently squeezed my hand Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision Call it intuition, something learned from mother But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see The Sword of Damocles hanging directly above her...,".
Going out for a walk for a junkie means going out to use. Nick is also quoted saying something to the effect of "I'm not the type of rock artist who will tell you how bad drugs are. They were actually pretty good." The songs he writes speaks about the pitfalls of illicit drugs, but he is not the preacher type against drugs.