Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

[fox69]

"Babe, I'm On Fire"

"Babe, I'm On Fire"


Father says it, mother says it
Sister says it, brother says it
Uncle says it, Auntie says it
Everyone at the party says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The horse says it, the pig says it
The judge in his wig says it
The fox and the rabbit
And the nun in her habit says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

My mate Bill Gates says it
The President of the United States says it
The slacker and the worker
The girl in her burqa says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The general with his tank says it
The man at the bank says it
The soldier with his rocket
And the mouse in my pocket says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The drug-addled wreck
With a needle in his neck says it
The drunk says it, punk says it
The brave Buddhist monk says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

Hit me up, baby, and knock me down
Drop what you're doing and come around
We can hold hands till the sun goes down
Cause I know
That you
And I
Can be
Together
Cause I love you

The blind referee says it
The unlucky amputee says it
The giant killer bee
Landing on my knee says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The cop with his breathalyser
The paddy with his fertiliser
The man in the basement
That's getting a taste for it says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The fucked-up Rastafarian says it
The dribbling libertarian says it
The sweet little Goth
With the ears of cloth says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe' I'm on fire

The cross-over country singer says it
The hump-backed bell ringer says it
The swinger, the flinger
The outraged right-winger says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The man going hiking says it
The misunderstood Viking says it
The man at the rodeo
And the lonely old Eskimo says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The mild little Christian says it
The wild Sonny Liston says it
The pimp and the gimp
And the guy with the limp says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The blind piano tuner says it
The Las Vegas crooner says it
The hooligan mooner
Holding a schooner says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The Chinese contortionist says it
The backyard abortionist says it
The poor Pakistani
With his lamb Bhirriani says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The hopeless defendant says it
The toilet attendant says it
The pornographer, the stenographer
The fashion photographer says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The college professor says it
The vicious cross-dresser says it
Grandma and Grandpa
In the back of the car says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The hack at the doorstep says it
The midwife with her forceps says it
The demented young lady
Who is roasting her baby
On the fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The athlete with his hernia says it
Picasso with his Guernica says it
My wife with her furniture
Everybody!
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The laughing hyena says it
The homesick polish cleaner says it
The man from the Klan
With a torch in his hand says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The Chinese herbologist says it
The Christian apologist says it
The dog and the frog
Sitting on a log says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The foxhunting toff says it
The horrible moth says it
The doomed homosexual
With the persistent cough says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The Papist with his soul says it
The rapist on a roll says it
Jack says it, Jill says it
As they roll down the hill
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The clever circus flea says it
The sailor on the sea says it
The man from the Daily Mail
With his dead refugee says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The hymen-busting Zulu says it
The proud kangaroo says it
The koala, the echidna
And the platypus too says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The disgraced country vicar says it
The crazed guitar picker says it
The beatnik, the peacenik
The apparachick says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The deranged midnight stalker says it
Garcia Lorca says it
The hit man, Walt Whitman
And the haliototic talker says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The wine taster with his nose says it
The fireman with his hose says it
The pedestrian, the equestrian
The tap-dancer with his toes says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The beast in the beauty pageant
The pimply real estate agent
The beach-comber, the roamer
The girl in a coma says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The old rock'n'roller
With his two-seater stroller
And the fan in the van
With the abominable plan says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The menstruating Jewess says it
The nervous stewardess says it
The hijacker, the backpacker
The cunning safecracker says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The sports commentator says it
The old alligator says it
The tennis pro with his racquet
The loon in the straight jacket
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The butcher with his cleaver says it
The mad basket weaver says it
The jaded boxing writer
And the glass-jawed fighter says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The old town cryer says it
The inveterate liar says it
The pilchard, the bream
And the trout in the stream
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The war correspondent says it
The enthused and the despondent says it
The electrician, the mortician
And the man going fishin' says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The cattleman from Down Under says it
The patriot with his plunder says it
Watching a boat of full of refugees
Sinking into the sea
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The silicone junky says it
The corporate flunky says it
The Italian designer
With his rickshaw in China says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

The trucker with his juggernaut says it
The lost astronaut says it
The share cropper, the bent copper
The compulsive shopper says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

The Viennese vampire says it
The cowboy round his campfire says it
The game show panellist
The Jungian analyst says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

Warren says it, Blixa says it
The lighting guy and mixer says it
Mick says it, Marty says it
Everyone at the party says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on Fire

The hairy arachnophobic says it
The scary agoraphobic says it
The mother, the brother
And the decomposing lover says
Babe, I'm on fire
Babe, I'm on fire

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Babe, You Turn Me On"

"Babe, You Turn Me On"


Stay by me, stay by me
You are the one, my only true love

The butcher bird makes it's noise
And asks you to agree
With it's brutal nesting habits
And it's pointless savagery
Now, the nightingale sings to you
And raises up the ante
I put one hand on your round ripe heart
And the other down your panties

Everything is falling, dear
Everything is wrong
It's just history repeating itself
And babe, you turn me on

Like a light bulb
Like a song

You race naked through the wilderness
You torment the birds and the bees
You leapt into the abyss, but find
It only goes up to your knees
I move stealthily from tree to tree
I shadow you for hours
I make like I'm a little deer
Grazing on the flowers

Everything is collapsing, dear
All moral sense has gone
It's just history repeating itself
And babe, you turn me on

Like an idea
Like an Atom bomb

We stand awed inside a clearing
We do not make a sound
The crimson snow falls all about
Carpeting the ground

Everything is falling, dear
All rhyme and reason gone
It's just history repeating itself
And, babe, you turn me on

Like an idea
Like an Atom bomb

 

[fox69]

"Black Betty"

"Black Betty"


Look-a look-a yonder
Look-a look-a yonder
Look-a look-a yonder
Well the sun done gone

The captain can't hold her
The captain can't hold her
The captain can't hold her
The way I do now

Ada got a gold mine
Ada got a gold mine
Ada got a gold mine
Way above her knees

The shiv is golden
The shiv is golden
The shiv is golden
Above her knees

Look-a look-a yonder
Look-a look-a yonder
Look-a look-a yonder
Well the sun done gone

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

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
Yes, I'm almost done
Yes, I'm almost done
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
Yes, I'm almost done
Yes, I'm almost done
And I ain't gonna .... no more

 

[fox69]

"Black Crow King"

"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

 

[fox69]

"Black Hair"

"Black Hair"


Last night my kisses were banked in black hair
And in my bed, my lover, her hair was midnight black
And all her mystery dwelled within her black hair
And her black hair framed a happy heart-shaped face

And heavy-hooded eyes inside her black hair
Shined at me frome the depths of her hair of deepest black
While my fingers pushed into her straight black hair
Pulling her black hair back from her happy heart-shaped face

To kiss her milk-white throat, a dark curtain of black hair
Smothered me, my lover with her beautiful black hair
The smell of it is heavy. It is charged with life
On my fingers the smell of her deep black hair

Full of all my whispered words, her black hair
And wet with tears and good-byes, her hair of deepest black
All my tears cried against her milk-white throat
Hidden behind the curtain of her beautiful black hair

As deep as ink and black, black as the deepest sea
The smell of her black hair upon my pillow
Where her head and all its black hair did rest
Today she took a train to the West
Today she took a train to the West
Today she took a train to the West

 

[fox69]

"Bless His Ever Loving Heart"

"Bless His Ever Loving Heart"


Bless his ever loving heart
Only he knows who you are
He may seem so very far
Bless his ever loving heart

And when your feeling sad
And everywhere you look
You can't believe the things you see
When it all comes down so bad
And beauty lies exhausted in the streets

Hold his ever loving hand
Even when you do not understand
Sorrow has it's natural end
Hold his ever loving hand

And when your feeling low
And everyone you meet
You can't believe the things they say
When there's no place left to go
Where someone isn't moving
You a little further down the way

Bless his ever loving heart
What you do is what you are
When it all comes down so hard
Bless his ever loving heart
Hold his ever loving hand
When it seems you ain't got a friend

Only he knows who you are and what you are
Bless his ever loving heart
Bless his ever loving heart

 

[fox69]

"Blind Lemon Jefferson"

"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!

 

[fox69]

"Breathless"

"Breathless"


It's up in the morning and on the downs
Little white clouds like gambolling lambs
And I am breathless over you
And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
His throat it trembles when he sings
For he is helpless before you
The happy hooded bluebells bow
And bend their heads all a-down
Heavied by the early morning dew
At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
The fishes leap up to take a look
For they are breathless over you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind
Still your soul
For still, the fare of love is true
And I am breathless without you
The wind circles among the trees
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
For it is breathless without you
The fox chases the rabbit round
The rabbit hides beneath the ground
For he is defenceless without you
The sky of daytime dies away
And all the earthly things they stop to play
For we are all breathless without you
I listen to my juddering bones
The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your soul
Still your mind
Still, the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you

 

[fox69]

"Bring It On"

"Bring It On"


This garden that I built for you
That you sit in now and yearn
I will never leave it, dear
I could not bear to return
And find it all untended
With the trees all bended low
This garden is our home, dear
And I got nowhere else to go

So bring it on
Bring it on
Every little tear
Bring it on
Every useless fear
Bring it on
All your shattered dreams
And I'll scatter them into the sea
Into the sea

The geraniums on your window sill
The carnations, dear, and the daffodil
Well, they're ordinary flowers
But they long for the light of your touch
And of your trembling will
Ah, you're trembling still
And I am trembling too
To be perfectly honest I don't know
Quite what else to do

So bring it on
Bring it on
Every neglected dream
Bring it on
Every little scheme
Bring it on
Every little fear
And I'll make them disappear

So bring it on, bring it on
Bring it on
Every little thing
Bring it on
Every tiny fear
Bring it on
Every shattered dream
And I'll scatter them into the sea

 

[fox69]

"Brompton Oratory"

"Brompton Oratory"


Up those stone steps I climb
Hail this joyful day's return
Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn

The reading is from Luke 24
Where Christ returns to his loved ones
I look at the stone apostles
Think that it's alright for some

And I wish that I was made of stone
So that I would not have to see
A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe

A beauty impossible to endure
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup up to my lips

No God up in the sky
No devil beneath the sea
Could do the job that you did, baby
Of bringing me to my knees

Outside I sit on the stone steps
With nothing much to do
Forlorn and exhausted, baby
By the absence of you