Nick Cave

A Box For Black Paul


Who'll build a box for Black Paul?
Ah'm enquirin on behalf of his soul
Ah'd be beholdin to ya all
For a lil information, just a little indication
Just who'll dig the hole?
When ya done ransackin' his room
grabbin any damn thing that shines,
throw the scraps down on the street
Like all his books and his notes.
All his books and his notes and
All the junk that he wrote
the whole fucken lot right up in smoke
Ain't there nuthin sacred anymore
Won't someone will build a box for Black Paul?
And their shootin off his guns
and their shootin off their mouths
saying 'Fuck with us ... and die!'
'Fuck with us ... and die!'
(Let's see that rat of fear go scuttle in their skulls)
'Cover that eye! Cover that frozen eye!'


Black-puppet, in a heap up against the stoning-wall
Black-puppet, go to sleep, ma-ma won't scold ya anymore


Armies of ants, wade up the lil red streams
they're headin for the mother-pool
O lord, it's cruel! O man it's hot! O man it's hot and
And some of them ants they just climb to the spot
Who threw the first stone at Black Paul?


'Don't ask us', say the critics and the hacks
The pen-pushers and the quacks
'We jes cum to git dah facks!'
'We jes cum to git dah facks!'
Hey, hey, hey, hey...


Here is the hammer, that built the scaffold,
and built the box...
Here is the shovel, that dug the hole,
in this ground of rocks...
And here is the pile of stones!
and for each one planted, God only knows,
a blood-rose grown...
These are the true Demon-Flowers!
These are the true Demon-Flowers!
Stand back everyone! Blood-black everyone!


Who'll build a box for Black Paul?
Who'll carry it up the hill?


'Not I', said the widow, adjusting her veil
'Ah will not drive the nail
Or cart his puppet-body home,
For ah done that one hundred times before,
Yeah! ah done that one hundred times or more,
And why should ah dress his wounds?
When he has wounded my dress, nightly,
Right across the floor'


Who'll build a box for Black Paul?
Who'll carry it up the hill?
Who'll bury it in the black-soil?
And from the woods and the thickets
Come the ghosts of his victims
'We love you!'
'Ah love you!'
'and this will not hurt a bit,
Outta my eyes was your rise to full glory Spring up from the corp(??) of life we'll go up, up, up, up, up into Death
up, up, up, up, inhale its breath
O yes, Death favours those that favor Death'


Here is the stone, and this is the inscription it bare:
'Below Lies Black Paul, Under The Upper...
But Above and Beyond The Surface-Flat-Fall There.'


And all the angels come on down,
And all you men and women crowd around
And all the old widows weeping into their skirts
And all the lil gals and the lil Boys
And the scribes with their pens poised
All the hullaballoo, all the norse
All the hullaballoo, all the noise
All the hullaballoo, all of the noise
clears his throat of black blood
singin Black Paul like a lonely boy...


We-e-e-ll, ah have cried one thousand tears
Ah've cried a thousand tears, its true
And the next stormy night you know,
That ah'm still cryin them for you


Well, ah had a gal she was so sweet,
Red dress, and long red hair hangin down
And heaven yes ain't heaven
Without that lil girl hangin around


Well, ya know ah've beenn a bad-man
and Lord knows ah done some good things too
But ah confess, my soul will never rest
Until you've, until you've build
Until you've built a box for my gal, too.
my gal, too
my gal, too


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Avalanche


(Leonard Cohen)


I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath the golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn to serve me well


You strike my side by accident
As you go down to your goal
This cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world


I who am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me now
To kneel grotesque and bare
For I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare


You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love that you offer me
Are the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just a shadow of my wound


I have begun to ask for you
I who have no greed
I have begun to long for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you when you breathe


Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
And do not love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, my beloved one
It is your flesh that I wear


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Cabin Fever!


The Captain's fore-arm like bunched-up rope
with A-N-I-T-A wrigglin' free on a skull'n'dagger
and a portrait of Christ, nailed to an anchor
etched into his upper...
O o o' Cabin Fever!
O o o' Cabin Fever!
Slams his fucken tin-dish down
Our Captain, takes time to crush
Some Bloo-Bottles glowin in his gruel
with a lump in his throat, and lumpy mush
Thumbing a scrapbook stuck up with clag
and a morbid lump of Love in his flags.
Done is the Missing, now all that remain
Is to sail forever, upon the stain
Cabin Fever! O o o' Cabin Fever!


The captain's free-hand is a cleaver
which he fashions his beard, n' he rations his jerkey!
and carves his peg outa the finest mahagony!
Or was it Ebony? etc...


Tallies up his loneliness, notch by notch
For the sea offers nuthin to hold or touch
Notch by notch, winter by winter
Notch x notch, winter x winter


Now his leg is whittled, right down to a splinter
O o Cabin Fever! O o o Cabin Fever!
O the rollin sea still rollin on!
She's everywhere! now that she's gone! Gone! Gone!
O Cabin Fever! O Cabin Fever!


Welcome to his table, Beloved-Unconscious
Raisin her host of hair from her crooks
and strugglin to summony one of her looks!
His arm now like coiled s-s-s-snakes
Whips all the bottles that he's drunken,
like crystal - skittles about the cabin,
of a ship they'd been sailing


Five years sunken... etc...


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

From Her To Eternity



Ah wanna tell ya 'bout a girl
You know, she lives in room 29
Why... Why... that's the one right up top a mine
Ah start to cry, Ah start to cry


O Ah hear her walkin'
Walkin' barefoot cross the floor-boards
All thru this lonesome night
Ah hear her crying too.
Hot-tears come splashin on down
Leaking thru the cracks,
Down upon my face, Ah catch'em in my mouth!
Ah catch'em in my mouth!
Ah catch'em in my mouth!
Walk'n'cry Walk'n'cry-y!!!


From her to eternity!
From her to eternity!
From her to eternity!


Ah read her diary on her sheets
Scrutinizin' every lil bit of dirt
Tore out a page'n'stufft it inside my shirt
Fled outa the window,
And shinning it down the vine
Outa her night-mare, and back into mine
Mine! O Mine!


From her to eternity!
From her to eternity!
From her to eternity!
Cry! Cry! CRY!


She's wearing them bloo-stockens, ah bet!
and standin' like this with my ear to the ceiling
Listen, Ah know it must sound absurd
but Ah can hear the most melancholy sound
Ah ever heard!
Walk'n'cry! Kneel'n'cry-y!


From her to eternity!
From her to eternity!


O tell me why? O tell me why?
Oh Why? Why? Why?
O tell me why and don't tell me a lie!
Why the ceiling still shakes? Shakes! Shakes! Shakes!
Why the fixtures turn to serpents and snakes?


This desire to possess her is a wound
and its naggin at me like a shrew
but, Ah know, that to possess her
Is, therefore, not to desire her.


O o o then ya know, that lil girl would just have to go!
Go! Go-o-o! From her to eternity!


From her to eternity! [Repeat]


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

In The Ghetto


(M. Davies)


As the snow flies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
A poor little baby child is born in the ghetto


And his mama cries
Cause there's one thing that she don't need
Is another little hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto


Oh people don't you understand
This child needs a helping hand
He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we that blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?


And the world turns
And the hungry little boy with the runny nose
Plays in the streets as the cold wind blows in the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight in the ghetto


Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun and steals a car
He tries to run but he don't get far
And his mama cries
A crowd gathers round an angry young man
Face down in the street with a gun in his hand in the ghetto


Oh people don't you understand
This child needs a helping hand
He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we that blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?


And as her young man dies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
Another little baby child is born in the ghetto


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Saint Huck



Born of the river,
Born of its ever-changing, never-changing murky water
Oh riverboat just rollin' along through the great great greasy city Huck standing like a Saint, upon its deck
If ya wanna catch a Saint,
then bait ya hook, let's take a walk...


'O come to me!, O come to me!' is what the dirty city
say to Huck... HUCK


woah-woah, woah woah!
woah-woah, woah woah!
Saint Huck! Huck!


Straight in the arms of the city goes Huck,
down the beckonin' streets of op-po-tunity
whistling his favorite river-song...
And a bad-blind nigger at the piano
Buts a sinister blooo lilt into that sing-a-long
Huck senses somthing's wrong!


Sirens wail in the city,
and lil-Ulysses turn to putty
and Ol Man River's got a bone to pick!
and our boy's hardly got a bone to suck!
He go, woah-woah, woah woah!
woah-woah, woah woah!
Saint Huck! Huck!


The mo-o-o-on, its huge cycloptic eye
watches the city streets contract
twist and cripple and crack.
Saint Huck goes on a dog's-leg now
Saint Huck goes on a dog's-leg now


You know the story!
Ya wake up one morning and you find you're a thug
blowing smoke rings in some dive
Ya fingers hot and itchin, ya cracking ya knuckles
Ya bull neck bristling...
Still Huck he ventures on whistling,
and Death reckons Huckleberry's time is up,
O woah woah woah!
Saint Huck!
O woah woah woah!
Saint Huck! Huck!


Yonder go Huck, minus pocket-watch an' wallet gone
Skin shrink-wraps his skeleton
No wonder he gets thinner, what with his cold'n'skinny dinners!
Saint Huck-a-Saint Elvis, Saint Huck-a-Saint Elvis
O you recall the song ya used to sing-a-long
Shifting the river-trade on that ol' steamer
Life is but a dream!


But ya traded in the Mighty ol' man River
for the Dirty ol' Man Latrine!
The brothel shift
The hustle'n'the bustle and the green-backs rustle
And all the sexy-cash
And the randy-cars
And the two dollar fucks
O o o ya outa luck, ya outa luck
Woah-woah-woah-woah
Saint Huck! Huck!


This is the track of deception
leads to the heart of despair
Huck whistles like he just don't care
but in the pocket of the jacket is a chamber
Lead pellets sleeps in there
Wake Up!


Now Huck whistles and he kneels
and he lays down there
See ya huck, good luck
A smoke ring hovers above his head
And the rats and the dogs and the men all come
and put a bullet through his eye
and the drip and the drip and the drip of the Mississippi cryin'
And Saint Huck hears his own Mississippi just rollin' by him
Woah-woah-woah-woah
Woah-woah-woah-woah
Saint Huck! Saint Huck! Saint Huck!
Woah-woah-woah-woah
Woah-woah-woah-woah
Saint Huck! Saint Huck! Saint Huck!
Woah-woah-woah-woah


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

The Moon Is In The Gutter



The moon is in the gutter
And the stars wash down the sink
I am the king of the blues
I scape the clay off my shoes
And wade down the gutter and the moon


The moon blinds my eye with opal cataracts
As I cut through the saw-mills and the stacks,
Leaping over the gully where I would one day take Lucy
Then wash up my hands in the gutter and the moon.


Such a long way from home, just me and
The moon is in the gutter
All my plans are flushed down the drain
I wander lonely as a cloud
Over memories at her mound
Then lie down in the bitter gutter moon.


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Well Of Misery



Along crags and sunless cracks I go
Up rib of rock, donw spine of stone
I dare not slumber where the night winds whistle
Lest her creeping-soul clutch this heart of thistle


O the same God that abandon'd her
Has in turn abandon'd me
And softenin' the turf with my tears
I dug a Well of Misery


And, in that Well of Misery
Hangs a bucket fulla Sorrow
It swings slow an' achin' like a bell
Its toll is dead and hollow


Down that well lies the long-lost dress
of my lil floatin girl
That muffles a tear that you let fall
All down that Well of Misery


Put ya shoulder to the handle, if ya dare
and hoist that bucket, hither
Lord, crank'n'hoist'n'hoist'n'crank
Till ya muscles waste'n'wither


O the same God that abandon'd her
Has in turn abandon'd me
Deep in the Desert of Despair
I wait at the Well of Misery


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Wings Off Flies


She loves me, she loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
She loves me, she loves me not
We-e-ll, ah've spent seven days and seven nights
tryin to get sunk in this brine
Don't turn on ya water-works
'cause ah got me a pair of water-wings, right?!


Insects suicide against the window,
and my heart goes out to those lil flies
There's a buzzin in my ear
but it's more of her black-mail, ham shakespeare + lies
Wings off Flies, She loves me, she loves me not.
O o o o oh she loves me not!!


Lord, Ah've discovered the recipe of Heaven
ya git solitude and ya mix with sanctuary and silence,
then bake it!
Listen, I plead guilty to misanthropy
so hang me! Ah'd appreciate it!!
Witness her gate-crash my tiny hell
with some obscene t¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte,
If ya wanna talk to me about Love'n'Pain
consult my ulcer, it'd be happy to co-operate
Wings off Flies, she loves me, loves me not
Uh hey, Joe! Another outa do the job.


Time to drown our lil fire, ya can keep the ashes,
Now bye bye, bye, bye, see ya in a pigs eye!
Ah will be one, in need of no-one
In this, my deepest dive...
Fill'er up, Joe...


Hey! Ah am obliged! Ah am olbiged!
Wings off Flies, She loves me, she loves me not
Wings off Flies etc... ad infinitum


Welcome the solitary flyer ya
see it land on the rim of my glass
it's going around and around and around
look I just don't have the heart to hurt a fly
I grabbed it in my paw
snatched it up
and then I held it to my ear could hear it scream
could hear it scream and scream and scream
till it screamed not...
Hey Joe, ya know anything about this scream?


Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity - 1984

Black Crow King



Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Keeper of the nodding corn
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
All the hammers are a-talking
All the nails are a-singing
So sweet and low


You can hear it in the valley
Where live the lame and the blind
They climb the hill out of its belly
They leave with mean black boots on


"I just made a simple gesture
They jumped up and nailed it to my shadow
My gesture was a hooker
You know, my shadow's made of timber."


And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me


And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
Ah'm still here rolling and I'm left on my own
The blackbirds have all gone!
Everyone's rolled on!


I am the black crow king
Keeper of the trodden corn
I am the king
Won't say it again
And the rain, it raineth daily
Lord
And wash away my clothes
I surrender up my arms
To a company of crows
I am the black crow king
I won't say it again


And all the thorns are a-crowning
King ruby on each spine
And the spears are a-sailing
O my o my


And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me


And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
I'm still here rolling and left on my own
Those blackbirds they have all flown and
I am on my own


I am the black crow king
Keeper of the forgotten corn
The King! The King!
I'm the king of nuthin' at all
The hammers are a-talking
The nails are a-singing
The thorns are a-crowning him
The spears are a-sailing
The crows are a-mocking
The corn is a-nodding
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling
Down on me
Rolling down on me
Rolling down on me


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Blind Lemon Jefferson



Blind Lemon Jefferson is a-coming
Tap tap tappin with his cane
Blind Lemon Jefferson is a-coming
Tap tap tappin with his cane
His last ditch lies down the road of trials
Down the road of trials
Half filled with rain


O Sycamore, Sycamore!
Stretch your arms across the storm
Down fly two greasy brother-crows
They hop'n'bop They hop'n'bop They hop'n'bop
Like the tax-man come to call
They go knock knock! Knock knock!
Hop'n'bop hop'n'bop
They slap a death-writ on his door


Here come the Judgement train
Git on board!
And turn that big black engine home
O let's roll!
Let's roll!
Down the tunnel
The terrible tunnel of his world
Waiting at his final station
Like a bigger blacker third bird
O let's roll!
Let's roll!


O his road is dark and lonely
He don't drive no Cadillac
O his road is dark and holy
He don't drive no Cadillac
If that sky serves as his eyes
Then that moons a cataract


Let's roll!
Yeah let's roll!


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Knockin' On Joe



These chains of sorrow, they are heavy, it is true
And these locks cannot be broken,
no, not with one thousand keys
O Jailer, you drag a ball-n-chain you cannot see
You can lay your burden on me
You can lay your burden down on me
You can lay your burden down upon me
But you cannot lay down your memory


Woooo wooo wooo
Woooo wooo wooo
Here I go!
Knockin on Joe!
This square foot of sky will be mine til I die
Knocking on Joe
Woooo wooo wooo
All down the row
Knockin on Joe


O Warden I surrender to you
Your fists can't hurt me anymore
You know, these hands will never mop
your dirty Death Row floors
O Preacher, come closer, you don't scare me anymore
Just tell Nancy not to come here
Just tell her not to come here anymore
Tell Nancy not to come
And let me die in the memory of those arms


O woo woo woo
Woo woo woo
All down the row
Knockin on Joe
O you kings of halls and ends of halls
You will die within these walls
And I'll go, down the row
Knockin on Joe


O Nancy's body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
O Nancy's body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
She wears her body like a coffin
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of red and gold
Grave-looters at my coffin
before my body's even cold


It's a door for when I go
Knockin on Joe
These hands will never mop
your dirty Death Row floors
No! You can hide! You can run!
O but your trial is yet to come
O you can run! You can hide!
But you have yet to be tried!
You can lay your burdens down here
You can lay your burden down
Knockin on Joe
You can lay your burden upon me
You can lay your burden upon me
Knockin on Joe
You can lay it down here
You can bring your burden down
Knockin on Joe
You can't hurt me anymore
You can't hurt me anymore
Knockin on Joe

(ad lib)


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Say Goodbye To The Little Girl Tree



O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O you know that I must say goodbye
To the little girl tree
This wall I built around you
Is made out of stone-lies
O little girl the truth would be
An axe in thee
O father look to your daughter
Brick of grief and stricken morter
With this ring
This silver hoop of wire
I bind your maiden mainstem
Just to keep you as a child


O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O you know that I must say goodbye
To my little girl tree
How fast your candy bones
Reached out for me
I must say goodbye to your brittle bones
Crying out for me
O you know that I must say goodbye
O goodbye
Even though you will betray me
The very minute that I leave


O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O Lord you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree
I rise up her girl-child lumps and slipping knots
Into her laden boughs
And amongst her roping limbs
Like a swollen neck vein branching
Into smaller lesser veins
That must all just sing and say goodbye
And let her blossom veils fly
Her velvet gown
Down down down
Down down down
Down down down and goodbye
For you know that I must say goodbye


To a rhythm softly tortured
Of a motion back and forth
Thats a rhythm sweetly tortured
O that's the rhythm of the orchard
And you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree
O goodbye
Yes goodbye
For you know that I must die
Down down down
Down down down
Down down down and goodbye
For you know that I must die
Yes you know that I must die
O-o you know that I must die


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

The Six Strings That Drew Blood



Guitar thug blew into town
His eyes like wheels spinnin' round
Jerkin-off at every sound
Layin' all his crosses down
O yeah
He got Six Strings
The Six Strings that drew blood


The bar is full of Holy-Joes
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria
Around the neck of our consumptive rose
is the root of all his sorrows
O yeah
He got Six Strings
Six Strings that drew blood
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria
Six Strings that drew blood


In the bathroom under cover
He turns on one tap to discover
He's smashed his teeth out on the other
Well he look in the mirror and say
don't fuck me brother
Cause I got Six Strings
Six Strings that drew blood


Numbin' the runt of reputation they call rat fame
Top-E as a tourniquet
A low tune whistles across his grave
Forever the master and the slave of his Six Strings
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria
Six Strings that drew blood.


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Train Long-suffering



Woo-wooooooo Woo!
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
There comes a train!
(There comes a train)
Yeah!
A long black train
(There comes a train)
Lord, a long black train


Woo-woo! Woo-woo!


Punched from the tunnel
(The tunnel of love is long and lonely)
Engines steaming like a fist
(A fistful of memories)
Into the jolly jaw of morning
(Yeah! O yeah!)
O baby it gets smashed!
(You know that it gets smashed)
O baby it gets smashed!
(You know that it gets smashed)


I kick every goddamn splinter
Into all the looking eyes in the world
Into all the laughing eyes
Of all the girls in the world
Oooooo-woooooh
She ain't never comin back
She ain't never comin back
She ain't never comin back
She ain't never comin back
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
The name of the pain is
A train long-suffering


On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
There comes a train
(There comes a train long-suffering)
On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
O baby blow its whistle in the rain


Woo-oo Woo! Woo-oo Woo!


Who's the engine driver?
(The engine drivers over yonder)
His name is Memory
(His name is Memory)
O Memory is his name
(Woooooo-wo!)
Destination: Misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
Hey! Hey!
(Pain and misery)
Hey! That's a sad lookin sack!
Oooh that's a sad lookin sack!
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
Ooh the name of the pain is
A train long-suffering


There is a train!
(It's got a name)
Yeah! It's a train long-suffering
O Lord a train!
(A long black train)
Lord! Of pain and suffering
Each night so black
(O yeah! So black)
And in the darkness of my sack
I'm missing you baby
(I'm missing you)
And I just dunno what to do
(dunno what to do)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
The name of the train is...
The name of the train is
Pain and suffering


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Wanted Man



I'm a wanted man, wanted man...
I'm wanted, I'm a wanted man...
Oh yeah...
yeah...
ah honey, I'm a wanted man


I'm a wanted man in California, I'm a wanted man in Buffalo
I'm a wanted man in Kansas City, I'm a wanted man in Ohio
I'm a wanted man in Mississippi, they want me in old Cheyenne
Wherever you may look tonight, you will see this wanted man


I might be in Colorado or Georgia by the sea,
Working for some man who may not know at all who I might be
If you ever see me comin' and you know justa who I am,
Don't breathe a word to no one buddy, 'cause I'm a wanted man


Wanted man in Albuquerque, wanted man in Syracuse,
Wanted man in Tallahassee, wanted man in Baton Rouge,
Wanted man in Arizona, wanted man in Galveston,
Wanted man in El Dorado, this wanted man's in great demand


If you ever catch me sleepin',
just see the price flashin' 'bove my head,
Well take look again my friend,
that's a gun pointed at your head


Wanted man by Lucy Watson, wanted man by Jesse Brown,
Wanted man by Nellie Johnson, wanted man in this next town


Wanted man by the Boller(?) Sisters,
wanted man by Kid Callahan
Hey Darlin' don't you tell me you don't want me,
cause I'm a wanted man


A wanted man who's lost his will to live,
a wanted man who won't lay down,
There's a woman kneelin' on my grave,
pushin' daisies in the ground


Wanted man in the Windy City, wanted man in Tennessee,
Wanted man in Broken Arrow, wanted man in Wounded Knee
Wanted man in Jackson Town, Wanted man in El Passo,
I got bounties on my head in towns I wouldn't ever think to go


Wanted Man in Arizona, wanted man in Louisville,
Wanted man deep in Death Valley,
wanted man up in the Hollywood Hill


If the Devil comes collectin',
cause he doesn't know I'm a wanted man,
he'd better wear a six gun on his hip
and hold another in his hand


If you love the wanted man,
you best hold him while you can,
cause you're gonna wake up one mornin'
and find the man you wanted, he is gone


Wanted man in New York City, wanted man in San Anton'
Wanted man down in Lorado, wanted man in Tupelo
Wanted man in the state of Texas, wanted man in the state of Maine
This wanted man's in the state of leavin' ya baby,
jumpin' on a midnight train


Wanted man in every cat house, wanted man in a many saloons,
Wanted man is a ghost in hundred homes, a shadow in a thousand rooms


Wanted man down in St. Louis, wanted man in New Orleans
Wanted man in Mussel(?) Bay, wanted man in Cripple Creek
Wanted man in Detriot City, wanted man in San Anton'
But there's one place I'm not wanted lord,
it's the place that I call home


Wanted man...
Wanted man...
If the devil comes collectin'
he better hold a six gun in his hand


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

Tupelo



Looka yonder! Looka yonder!
Looka yonder! A big black cloud come!
A big black cloud come!
O comes to Tupelo. Comes to Tupelo


Yonder on the horizon
Yonder on the horizon
Stopped at the mighty river
Stopped at the mighty river and
Sucked the damn thing dry
Tupelo-o-o, O Tupelo
In a valley hides a town called Tupelo


Distant thunder rumble. Distant thunder rumble
Rumble hungry like the Beast
The Beast it cometh, cometh down
The Beast it cometh, cometh down
Wo wo wo-o-o
Tupelo bound. Tupelo-o-o. Yeah Tupelo
The Beast it cometh, Tupelo bound


Why the hen won't lay no egg
Can't get that cock to crow
The nag is spooked and crazy
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!


Ya can say these streets are rivers
Ya can call these rivers streets
Ya can tell ya self ya dreaming buddy
But no sleep runs this deep
No! No sleep runs this deep
No sleep runs this deep
Women at their windows
Rain crashing on the pane
Writing in the frost
Tupelos' shame. Tupelo's shame
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!


O go to sleep lil children
The sandmans on his way
O go to sleep lil children
The sandmans in his way
But the lil children know
They listen to the beating of their blood
listen to the beating of their blood
listen to the beating of their blood
listen to the beating of their blood
They listen to the beating of their blood
The sandman's mud!
The sandman's mud!
And the black rain come down
the black rain come down
the black rain come down
Water water everywhere
Where no bird can fly no fish can swim
Where no bird can fly no fish can swim
No fish can swim
Until The King is born!
Until The King is born!
In Tupelo! Tupelo-o-o!
Til The King is born in Tupelo!


In a clap-board shack with a roof of tin
Where the rain came down and leaked within
A young mother frozen on a concrete floor
With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo!
With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw


Well Saturday gives what Sunday steals
And a child is born on his brothers heels
Come Sunday morn the first-born dead
In a shoebox tied with a ribbon of red
Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo!
In a shoebox buried with a ribbon of red


O ma-ma rock you lil' one slow
O ma-ma rock your baby
O ma-ma rock your lil' one slow
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!
Mama rock your lil' one slow
The lil one will walk on Tupelo
The lil one will walk on Tupelo
Black rain come down, Black rain come down
Tupelo-o-o! Yeah Tupelo!
And carry the burden of Tupelo
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo! Yeah!
The King will walk on Tupelo!
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo!
He carried the burden outa Tupelo!
Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo! [Repeat]
You will reap just what you sow


Nick Cave - The Firstborn Is Dead - 1985

All Tomorrow's Parties


(Lou Reed)


And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties


And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's gown
And cry behind the door


And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
Why silks and plumes of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties


And what shall she do with Thursday's rags
When Monday comes around
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door


And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning


A blackened shroud, a hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks, a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Black Betty

(Leadbelly)

A traditional version is also available.


Look-a look-a yonder (3x)
Well the sun done gone


The captain can't hold her (3x)
The way I do now


Ada got a gold mine (3x)
Way above her knees


The shiv (?) is golden (3x)
Above her knees


Look-a look-a yonder (3x)
Well the sun done gone


Wohoh, Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)
Black Betty had a baby, bam-e-lam (2x)
Damn thing was crazy, bam-e-lam (2x)
Wohoh, Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)
Oh, Betty Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)
Black Betty had a baby, bam-e-lam (2x)
Damn thing was crazy, bam-e-lam (2x)
Black Betty didn't mind, bam-e-lam (2x)
Damn thing was blind, bam-e-lam (2x)
Wohoh, Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)
Black Betty, Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)
Jump steady Black Betty, bam-e-lam (2x)


That Monday, I was arrested
Tuesday, I locked up in jail
Wednesday baby, my trial's tested
On Thursday, nobody could blow my bail


Yes, I'm almost done (3x)
And I ain't gonna yell against no bells


On Monday, baby I went a-walking
Tuesday, I .... asked to go
On Wednesday I sat down a-talking
On Thursday she hock all a my clothes


Yes, I'm almost done (3x)
And I ain't gonna .... no more


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

By The Time I Get To Phoenix


(J. Webb)


By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising
And she'll find that note that I left hanging on the door
And she'll laugh when she reads the part
That says: "I'm leaving"
Cause I've left that girl so many times before


And by the time I get to Albuquerque, she'll be working
And she'll take off time just to give me a call
And she'll hear that phone keep right on ringing and ringing
On the wall, yeah oh, that's all


And by the time I make Oklahoma, she'll be sleeping
She'll turn softly in her sleep and call my name out low
And then she'll cry just to think that I'd really leave her, I left her
But time after time after time I tried to tell her so
But she just didn't know That I would really go
That I would really go


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Hey Joe


(W. Roberts)


Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?
Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?
I'm gonna shoot my baby, I caught her messin round with another man


Hey Joe, I heard you shot your baby down
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your baby down
Yes I did I shot her, I went and put her in the ground


Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
I'm heading way down South where I can be free
I'm heading Mexico way, no hangman's about to put a leash around me


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

I'm Gonna Kill That Woman


(John Lee Hooker)


Yeah, my baby left me this morning
And I don't care now, I don't care what the people say


Yeah, I did everything that I could, everything I could,
Lord knows I did everything I could
I tried to satisfy her worried mind, that's what I did


You know she was nothing but trouble, trouble
She keep me worried all the time
God knows her movements are killing me


Yeah, my baby stayed out all night long, all night long
She keep me worried all the time


Yeah, I lay down last night I was thinking
Must I kill that woman? Must I kill that woman?
Oh Lord I get down on my knees
They tell me God forgivin' everything you do
But I don't care what the people say
I'm gonna kill that woman,
I'm gonna kill that woman, God knows
I'm gonna get down on my knees


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Jesus Met The Woman At The Well


(Traditional, Arr. The Alabama Singers)


Jesus met the woman at the well
Jesus met the woman at the well
And he told her, everything that she'd done, that she'd done


And he said, woman, look-a here woman,
Tell me where is your husband?
She said whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't have one


He said, woman, look-a here woman,
They tell me you have five husbands
And that man you have now sure ain't one


She went running, crying, God help me
She said whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you must be the prophet
Because you told me everything that I've done


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Long Black Veil


(D. Del, M. Wilkins)


She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me


Ten years ago, on a cold dark night
Someone was killed 'neath the Town Hall light
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me


The judge he said: Son, what is your alibi
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die
But I spoke not a word though it meant my life
For I'd been in the arms of my best friends wife


Now the scaffold is high and eternity is near
She stood in the crowd but shed not a tear
But sometimes at night when the cold winds moan
In a long black veil she cries on my bones


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Muddy Water


(J. Bundrick)


Mary, grab the baby, the river's rising
Muddy water taking back the land
The old-frame house, she can't take-a one more beating
Ain't no use to stay and make a stand


Well the morning light shows water in the valley
Daddy's grave just went below the line
Things to say, you just can't take em with ya
This flood will swallow all you've left behind


Won't be back to start all over
Cause what I felt before is gone


Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water taking back my home
The road is gone, there's just one way to leave here
Turn my back on what I've left below
Shifting land, broken farms around me
Muddy water's changing all I know


It's hard to say just what I'm losing
Ain't never felt so all alone


Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water taking back my home


Won't be back to start all over
Cause what I felt before is gone


Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water's changing all I know
Muddy water's changing all I know
Lord, this muddy water is taking back my home


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Running Scared


(Orbison, Melson)


Just running scared, each place we go
So afraid, that he might show


Yeah, running scared, what would I do
If he came back and wanted you?


Just running scared, feeling low
Running scared that you love him so


Just running scared, afraid to lose
If he came back, which one would you choose?


And then all at once, he was standing there
So sure of himself, his head in the air
While my heart was breaking, which one would it be?
Then you turned round and walked right out on me


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Sleeping Analeah


(Newbury, Folger)


Yesterday the sun was shining but you're finding the sun it
Don't shine all the time
A winter day suddenly came your way
And you ran into your mind


Sleeping Analeah, Weeping Analeah
Do you think you're ready for me?


Oh and yesterday is gone forever and ever, never
To be again
You looked for the sunshine, that brought warmth to your mind
But find only rain


Sleeping Analeah, Weeping Analeah
No, you're not ready for me


But when yesterday becomes a memory, a memory
That we uncovered in time
If you still remember that cold September
I reigned in your mind


Sleeping Analeah, Weeping Analeah
Then you'd be ready for me


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart


(Greenaway, Cooke)


Something's gotten hold of my heart
Keeping my soul and my senses apart
Something's gotten into my life
Cutting its way through my dreams like a knife
Turning me up and turning me down
Making me smile and making me frown


In a world that was small
I once lived in a time there was peace with no trouble at all
But then you came my way
And a feeling unknown shook my heart, made me want you to stay
All of my nights and all of my days


I gotta tell you now
Something's gotten hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Something has invaded my nights
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey and changing the blue
Scarlet for me and scarlet for you


I've got to know if this is the real thing
I've got to know what's making my heart sing
You smile and I am lost for a lifetime
Each minute spent with you is the right time
Every hour, every day
You touch me and my mind goes astray


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986

The Carnival Is Over



(T. Springfield, F. Farian)


Say goodbye, my one true lover
And we'll steal a lover's song
How it breaks my heart to leave you
Now the carnival has gone


Oh my love, the dawn is breaking
And my tears are falling rain
For the carnival is over
We may never meet again


Like a drum my heart was beating
And your kiss was sweet as wine
But the joys of love are fleeting
For Pierrot and Columbine


Now the cloak of night is falling
This will be our last goodbye
Though the carnival is over
I will love you till I die


Nick Cave - Kicking Against The Pricks - 1986