Love, God and Murder
A collection of some of my favourite Nick Cave lyrics.
From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one She stared in my eyes and smiled For her lips were the colour of the roses That grew down the river, all bloody and wild
– Where the Wild Roses Grow
What about God and his Armageddon? He’s all blissed out, man, up in heaven
– There is a Light
She saw the barkeep and said oh god he can’t be dead Stag said well just count the holes in the motherfucker’s head
– Stagger Lee
Be mindful of the prayers you send Pray hard but pray with care For the tears that you are crying now Are just your answered prayers The ladders of life that we scale merrily Move mysteriously around So that when you think you’re climbing up, man In fact you’re climbing down
– Oh my Lord
Well they killed a little whiskey And poured their pistols dry
– Crow Jane
My desire for you is endless And I love you most of all I just don’t want you no more And that’s the sweetest embrace of all
– Sweetest Embrace
But there was a chord in you that I could not find to strike
– Jesus of the Moon
Here she comes blockin' the sun Blood runnin' down the inside of her legs
– Do you Love Me?
A life-sentence sweeping confetti from the floor of a concrete hole
– Let Love In
And my piano crouched in the corner of my room With all its teeth bared All its teeth bared
– Hallelujah
I could not wipe the smile from my face As I sat sadly by her side
– As I Sat Sadly by Her Side
And she is moving the furniture around Moving the furniture around
– Sorrowful Wife
I counted up my blessings And counted only one One tiny little blessing And now that blessing’s gone
– Brother My Cup is Empty
So buy me one more drink my brother Then I’ll take it to the road Yes I’ll take it to the rain I’ll take it to the snow
– Brother My Cup is Empty
It’s early in the morning and I don’t know what to do It’s early in the morning and I can’t believe it’s true It’s early in the morning and it’s happening again Well I called you once I called you twice Ain’t I your midnight man?
– Midnight Man
The thunder from my steely fist It made all the glasses jangle When I shot him I was so handsome It was the light It was the angle
– O’Malley’s Bar
What’s your pleasure? asked the barman He had a face like boiled meat
– The Ballad of Betty Coltrane and Robert Moore
She was given to me to put things right And I stacked all my accomplishments beside her Yet I seemed so obsolete and small
I found God and all his devils inside her In my bed she cast the blizzard out Mock sun blazed upon her head
And so completely filled with light she was Her shadow fanged and hairy and mad
– Do you love me?
The tears are welling in my eyes again I need twenty big buckets to catch them in Twenty pretty girls to carry them down Twenty deep holes to burry them in
– Hallelujah