Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

[fox69]

"Moonland"

"Moonland"


When I came up from out of the meat locker
The city was gone
The sky was full of lights
The snow provided a silent cover
In moonland
Under the stars
Under the snow
And I followed this car
And I followed that car
Through the sand
Through the snow
I turn on the radio
I listen to the DJ

And it must feel nice
(It must feel nice)
It must feel nice to know
That somebody needs you
And everything moves slow

Under the stars, under the ash, under the sand
And the night drifts in
The snow provided a silent cover
And I'm not your favourite lover
I turn on the radio

And it must feel nice
(It must feel nice)
Oh, very, very nice to know
That somebody needs you
And the chilly winds blow

Under the snow, under the stars
The whispering DJ on the radio
The whispering DJ on the radio
I'm not your favourite lover
I'm not your favourite lover

And it must feel nice
(It must feel nice)
To leave no trace
That somebody needs you
And that somebody is me

Under the stars, under the snow

Your eyes were closed
You were playing with the buttons on your coat
In the back of that car

In moonland
Under the stars
In moonland
And I followed that car

 

[fox69]

"More News From Nowhere"

"More News From Nowhere"


I walk into the corner of my room, see my friends in high places
I don't know which is which and whom is whom, they've stolen each other's faces
Janet is there with her high-hatting hair full of bedroom feathers
Janet is known to make dead men groan in any kind of weathers
I crawl over to her, I say hey baby, I say hey Janet
You are the one, you are the sun and I'm your dutyfull planet
But she ain't down with any of that, she's heard that shit before
I say ah ha, oh yeah, you're right, cause I see Betty X standing by the door
With more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And it's getting strange in here
Yeah, it gets stranger every year
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

Now, Betty X is like Betty Y minus that fatal chromosome
Her hair is like the wine dark sea, on which sailors come home
I say hey baby, I say hey Betty X (I lean close up to her throat)
This light you're carrying is like a lamp, hanging from a distant boat
It is my light, said Betty X, Betty X says this light ain't yours
And so much wind blew through her words that I went rolling down the hall
For more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And it's getting strange in here
Yeah, it gets stranger every year
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

I turn another corner, I go down a corridor and I see this guy
He must be about 100 foot tall and he only has one eye
He asks me for my autograph, I write nobody and then
I wrap myself up in my woolly coat and blind him with my pen
Cause someone must have put something in my drink, everything getting strange looking
Half the people had turned into squealing pigs, the other half were cooking
Let me out of here, I cried, and I went pushing past
And I saw miss Polly singing with some girls, I cried strap me to the mast
For more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And it's getting strange in here
Yeah, it gets stranger every year
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

Then a black girl with no clothes on danced across the room
We charted the progress of the planets around that boogie-wongie moon
I called her my nubian princess, I gave her some sweet-back bad-ass jive
I spent the next seven years between her legs pining for my wife
But by and by it all went wrong, I felt all washed-up on the shore
She stared down at me from up in the storm as I sobbed upon the floor
For more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And don't it make you feel alone
Don't it make you wanna get right-on home
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

Here comes Alina with two black eyes, she's given herself a transfusion
She's filled herself with panda blood to avoid all the confusion
I said the sun rises and falls with you, and various things about love
But a rising violence in me cut all my circuits off
Well, Alina, she starts screaming, her cheeks are full of psychotropic leaves
Her extinction was nearly absolute when she turned her back on me
For more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And it's getting strange in here
Yeah, it gets stranger every year
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

I bumped bang crash into Deanna hanging pretty in the door frame
Alle the horrors which have befallen me, well, Deanna is to blame
Every time I see you, babe, you make me feel so all alone
And I wept my face into her dress long after she'd gone home
With more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And don't it make you feel alone
Don't it make you wanna get right back home
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

Don't it make you feel so sad, don't the blood rush to your feet
To think that everything you do today, tomorrow is obsolete?
Technology and women and little children too
Don't it make you feel blue? Don't it make you feel blue?
For more news from nowhere
More news from nowhere
And don't it make you feel alone
Don't it make you wanna get right back home
More news from nowhere
More news from nowhere

Well, I've gotta say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

 

[fox69]

"Muddy Water"

"Muddy Water"


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

 

[fox69]

"Nature Boy"

"Nature Boy"


I was just a boy when I sat down
To watch the news on TV
I saw some ordinary slaughter
I saw some routine atrocity
My father said, don't look away
You got to be strong, you got to be bold, now
He said, that in the end it is beauty
That is going to save the world, now

And she moves among the sparrows
And she floats upon the breeze
She moves among the flowers
She moves something deep inside of me

I was walking around the flower show like a leper
Coming down with some kind of nervous hysteria
When I saw you standing there, green eyes, black hair
Up against the pink and purple wisteria
You said, hey, nature boy, are you looking at me
With some unrighteous intention?
My knees went weak,
I couldn't speak, I was having thoughts
That were not in my best interests to mention

And she moves among the flowers
And she floats upon the smoke
She moves among the shadows
She moves me with just one little look

You took me back to your place
And dressed me up in a deep sea diver's suit
You played the patriot, you raised the flag
And I stood at full salute
Later on we smoked a pipe that struck me dumb
And made it impossible to speak
As you closed in, in slow motion,
Quoting Sappho, in the original Greek

She moves among the shadows
She floats upon the breeze
She moves among the candles
And we moved through the days
and through the years

Years passed by, we were walking by the sea
Half delirious
You smiled at me and said, Babe
I think this thing is getting kind of serious
You pointed at something and said
Have you ever seen such a beautiful thing?
It was then that I broke down
It was then that you lifted me up again

She moves among the sparrows
And she walks across the sea
She moves among the flowers
And she moves something deep inside of me

She moves among the sparrows
And she floats upon the breeze
She moves among the flowers
And she moves right up close to me

 

[fox69]

"Needle Boy"

"Needle Boy"


At the turn of the century I did many things to protect myself
I did many things to protect myself
I made myself a needle-boy
And I hid him in the closet
And I made myself a money-man
And I hid him underneath the mattress
I made myself a spider-child
And I put him in a matchbox
And I forged myself a golden statuette
And I wrapped him in a hello magazine
And I hid I'm in a wall safe
And finally I made myself a spade-girl
And I put her in a garden she'd
All to protect myself, you see
From the demon that was coming from the East
Or from the west
Then I sat on the rooftop and I waited
And when at last the demon came
From the East or from the West
And awoke me from my sleep
And awoke me to a particular point of view
And the needle-boy stuck him in the eye
And the money-man chocked him with coins
The spider-child bit him on the ankle
And the statuette crashed crashed down upon his head
And the spade-girl buried him underneath the house
And I danced on the rooftops
And I danced on the rooftops
And I danced to the western world
And I danced to the western world

 

[fox69]

"New Morning"

"New Morning"


One morn I awakened
A new sun was shining
The sky was a Kingdom
All covered in blood
The moon and the stars
Where the troops that lay conquered
Like fruit left to wither
Poor spiritual food

And the spears of bright sun
All brave with it conquest
Did hover unearthly
In banners of fire
I kneit in the garden
Awash with the dawning
And a voice came so brightly
I covered my eyes

Thank you for giving
This bright new morning
So steeped seemed the evening
In darkness and blood
There'll be no sadness
There'll be no sorrow
There'll be no road too narrow
There'll be a new day
And it's today
For us

 

[fox69]

"Night Of The Lotus Eaters"

"Night Of The Lotus Eaters"


Sapped and stupid I lie upon the stones and I swoons
The darlig little dandelions have done their thing and changed from suns into moons
The dragons roam the shopping malls, I hear they're gonna eat our guts
If I had the strength I might pick up my sword and make some attempt to resist

Get ready to shield yourself
Grab your sap and your heaters
Get ready to shield yourself
On the night of the lotus eaters

Mmm, don't you love my baby
Mmm, and don't you love my baby anymore

They gilded my scales, they fish-bowled me and they toured me round the old aquariums
They come in their hordes to tap at the glass, the philistines and barbarians
I like floating here, it's nice, they've hung seaweed around my hips
And I do the hula for the hungry ones and the lames all throw me tips

Get ready to shield yourself
Grab your sap and your heaters
Get ready to shield yourself
On the night of the lotus eaters

Mmm, don't you love my baby
Mmm, and don't you love my baby anymore

Get ready to shield yourself
From our catastrophic leaders
Get ready to shield yourself
Grab your sap and your heaters

On the night of the lotus eaters

Now hit the streets!

Now hit the streets!

 

[fox69]

"Nobody's Baby Now"

"Nobody's Baby Now"


I've searched the holy books
Tried to unravel the mystery of Jesus Christ, the saviour
I've read the poets and the analysts
Searched through the books on human behaviour
I travelled the whole world around
For an answer that refused to be found
I don't know why and I don't know how
But she's nobody's baby now

I loved her then and I guess I love her still
Hers is the face I see when a certain mood moves in
She lives in my blood and skin
Her wild feral stare, her dark hair
Her winter lips as cold as stone
Yeah, I was her man
But there are some things even love won't allow
I held her hand but I don't hold it now
I don't know why and I don't know how
But she's nobody's baby now

This is her dress that I loved best
With the blue quilted violets across the breast
And these are my many letters
Torn to pieces by her long-fingered hand
I was her cruel-hearted man
And though I've tried to lay her ghost down
She's moving through me, even now
I don't know why and I don't know how
But she's nobody's baby now

 

[fox69]

"O Children"

"O Children"


Pass me that lovely little gun
My dear, my darling one
The cleaners are coming, one by one
You don't even want to let them start

They are knocking now upon your door
They measure the room, they know the score
They're mopping up the butcher's floor
Of your broken little hearts

O children

Forgive us now for what we've done
It started out as a bit of fun
Here, take these before we run away
The keys to the gulag

O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice

Here comes Frank and poor old Jim
They're gathering round with all my friends
We're older now, the light is dim
And you are only just beginning

O children

We have the answer to all your fears
It's short, it's simple, it's crystal clear
It's round about and it's somewhere here
Lost amongst our winnings

O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice

The cleaners have done their job on you
They're hip to it, man, they're in the groove
They've hosed you down, you're good as new
They're lining up to inspect you

O children

Poor old Jim's white as a ghost
He's found the answer that we lost
We're all weeping now, weeping because
There ain't nothing we can do to protect you

O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice

Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
And the train ain't even left the station

Hey, little train! Wait for me!
I once was blind but now I see
Have you left a seat for me?
Is that such a stretch of the imagination?

Hey little train! Wait for me!
I was held in chains but now I'm free
I'm hanging in there, don't you see
In this process of elimination

Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
It's beyond my wildest expectation

Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
And the train ain't even left the station

 

[fox69]

"O'Malley's Bar"

"O'Malley's Bar"


I am tall and I am thin
Of an enviable hight
And I've been known to be quite handsome
In a certain angle and in certain light
Well I entered into O'Malley's
Said, "O'Malley I have a thirst"
O'Malley merely smiled at me
Said "You wouldn't be the first"
I knocked on the bar and pointed
To a bottle on the shelf
And as O'Malley poured me out a drink
I sniffed and crossed myself
My hand decided that the time was nigh
And for a moment it slipped from view
And when it returned, it fairly burned
With confidence anew
Well the thunder from my steely fist
Made all the glasses jangle
When I shot him, I was so handsome
It was the light, it was the angle
Huh! Hmmmmmm
"Neighbours!" I cried, "Friends!" I screamed
I banged my fist upon the bar
"I bear no grudge against you!"
And my dick felt long and hard
"I am the man for which no God waits
But for which the whole world yearns
I'm marked by darkness and by blood
And one thousand powder-burns"
Well, you know those fish with the swollen lips
That clean the ocean floor
When I looked at poor O'Malley's wife
That's exactly what I saw
I jammed the barrel under her chin
And her face looked raw and vicious
Her head it landed in the sink
With all the dirty dishes
Her little daughter Siobhan
Pulled beers from dusk till down
And amongst the townfolk she was a bit of a joke
But she pulled the best beer in town
I swooped magnificent upon her
As she sat shivering in her grief
Like the Madonna painted on the church-house wall
In whale's blood and banana leaf
Her throat it crumbled in my fist
And I spun heroically around
To see Caffrey rising from his seat
I shot that mother fucker down
Mmmmmmmmmm Yeah Yeah Yeah
"I have no free will", I sang
As I flew about the murder
Mrs. Richard Holmes, she screamed
You really should have heard her
I sang and I laughed, I howled and I wept
I panted like a pup
I blew a hole in Mrs. Richard Holmes
And her husband stupidly stood up
As he screamed, "You are an evil man"
And I paused a while to wonder
"If I have no free will then how can I
Be morally culpable, I wonder"
I shot Richard Holmes in the stomach
And gingerly he sat down
And he whispered weirdly, "No offense"
And then lay upon the ground
"None taken", I replied to him
To which he gave a little cough
With blazing wings I neatly aimed
And blew his head completely off
I've lived in this town for thirty years
And to no-one I am a stranger
And I put new bullets in my gun
Chamber upon chamber
And I turned my gun on the bird-like Mr. Brookes
I thought of Saint Francis and his sparrows
And as I shot down the youthful Richardson
It was St. Sebastian I thought of, and his arrows
Hhhhhhhhhh Mmmmmmmmmmmm
I said, "I want to introduce myself
And I am glad that all you came"
And I leapt upon the bar
And shouted out my name
Well Jerry Bellows, he hugged his stool
Closed his eyes and shrugged and laughed
And with an ashtray as big as a fucking really big brick
I split his head in half
His blood spilled across the bar
Like a steaming scarlet brook
And I knelt at it's edge on the counter
Wiped the tears away and looked
Well, the light in there was blinding
Full of God and ghosts of truth
I smiled at Henry Davenport
Who made an attempt to move
Well, from the position I was standing
The strangest thing I ever saw
The bullet entered through the top of his chest
And blew his bowels out on the floor
Well I floated down the counter
Showing no remorse
I shot a hole in Kathleen Carpenter
Recently divorced
But remorse i felt and remorse I had
It clung to every thing
From the raven's hair upon my head
To the feathers on my wings
Remorse sqeezed my hand in it's fradulent claw
With it's golden hairless chest
And I glided through the bodies
And killed the fat man Vincent West
Who sat quietly in his chair
A man become a child
And I raised the gun up to his head
Executioner-style
He made no attempt to resist
So fat and dull and lazy
"Did you know I lived in your street?" I said
And he looked at me as though I were crazy
"O", he said, "I had no idea"
And he grew as quiet as a mouse
And the roar of the pistol when it went off
Near blew that hat right off the house
Hmmmmmm Uh Uh
Well, I caught my eye in the mirror
And gave it a long and loving inspection
"There stands some kind of man", I roared
And there did, in the reflection
My hair combed back like a raven's wing
My muscles hard and tight
And curling from the business end of my gun
Was a query-mark of cordite
Well I spun to the left, I spun to the right
And I spun to the left again
"Fear me! Fear me! Fear me!"
But no one did cause they were dead
Huh! Hmmmmmmmmm
And then there were the police sirens wailing
And a bull-horn squelched and blared
"Drop your weapons and come out
With your hands held in the air"
Well, I checked the chamber of my gun
Saw I had one final bullet left
My hand, it looked almost human
As I raised it to my head
"Drop your weapon and come out!
Keep your hands above your head!"
I had one one long hard think about dying
And did exactly what they said
There must have been fifty cops out there
In a circle around O'Malley's bar
"Don't shoot", I cried, "I'm a man unarmed!"
So they put me in their car
And they sped me away from that terrible scene
And I glanced out of the window
Saw O'Malley's bar, saw the cops and the cars
And I started counting on my fingers
Aaaaaah One Aaaaaah Two Aaaaaah Three Aaaaaaah Four
O'Malley's bar O'Malley's bar