Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

[fox69]

"Jubilee Street"

"Jubilee Street"


On Jubilee Street there was a girl named Bee
She had a history but she had no past
When they shut her down the Russians moved in
Now I'm too scared, I'm too scared to even walk on past

She used to say all those good people down on Jubilee Street
They ought to practice what they preach
Yeah they ought to practice just what they preach
Those good people on Jubilee Street

And here I come up the hill, I'm pushing my wheel of love
I got love in my tummy and a tiny little pain
And a 10 ton catastrophe on a 60 pound chain
And I'm pushing my wheel of love up Jubilee Street
Ah, look at me now

The problem was she had a little black book
And my name was written on every page
Well a girl's got to make ends meet even down on Jubilee Street
I was out of place and time and over the hill and out of my mind
On Jubilee Street

I ought to practice what I preach
These days I go downtown in my tie and tails
I got a foetus on a leash

I am alone now
I am beyond recriminations
Curtains are shut
Furniture has gone
I'm transforming
I'm vibrating
I'm glowing
I'm flying
Look at me now
I'm flying
Look at me now

 

[fox69]

"King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Ki-Mi-O"

"King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Ki-Mi-O"


(Can you turn me up a bit?)
King kong kitchee kitchee ki-mi-o [4 times and throughout song]

Well frog went a-courtin' and he did ride
With a sword and a pistol by his side And he rode 'til he came to Miss Mouse's door
And then he knelt right down upon the floor
He said, "Little Miss Mouse, will you marry me
Way down yonder in the hollow tree
With an owl and a bat and a bumblebee?"

(Shoop shoop, shoop shoop)
Miss Mouse had suitors, three or four
And they came rushing through the door
Well they grabbed Miss Mouse and began to fight
In the hollow tree; it was a terrible night
Yeah, "Little Miss Mouse, will you marry me
Way down yonder in the hollow tree
With an owl and a bat and a bumblebee?"
Yeah! Yeah!

Mr Frog threw her suitors to the floor
And with his sword and his pistol he killed them all
And they went to the vicar the very next day
And they left on their honeymoon right away
Oh glory, glory, glory be
Way down yonder in the hollow tree
With an owl and a bat and a bumblebee

 

[fox69]

"Knocking On Joe"

"Knocking 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

 

[fox69]

"Knoxville Girl"

"Knoxville Girl"


I met a little girl in Knoxville
A town we all know well
And every sunday evening
In her home I'd dwell
We went to take an evening walk
About a mile from town
I picked a stick up off the ground
And I knocked that fair girl down
She fell down on her bended knees
For mercy she did cry
"Oh Willy, dear, don't kill me yet
I'm unprepared to die"
She never spoke another word
I only beat her more
Until the ground around me
With her blood did flow
I took her by her golden curls
And I dragged her 'round and 'round
Throwing her into the river
That flows from Knoxville town
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl
With your dark and roving eyes
Go down, go down, you Knoxville girl
You can never be my bride
I started back to Knoxville
Got there about midnight
My mother, she was worried
She woke up in a fright
Saying, "Dear son, what have you done
To bloody up your clothes?"
I told my anxious mother
That I was bleading in my nose
I called for me a candle
And I called for me a bed
And I called for me a handkerchief
To bind my aching head
I rolled and thrashed the whole night through
All horrors I did see
The devil stood at the foot of my bed
Pointing his finger at me
They carried me down to Knoxville
And put me in a cell
My friends all tried to get me out
But none could grow my bail
I'm here to waste my life away
Down in this dirty old jail
Because I murdered that Knoxville girl
The girl I loved so well

 

[fox69]

"Lament"

"Lament"


I've seen your fairground hair,
your seaside eyes
Your vampire tooth, your little truth
Your tiny lies

I know your trembling hand, your guilty prize
Your sleeping limbs, your foreign hymns
Your midnight cries

So dry your eyes
And turn your head away
Now there's nothing more to say
Now you're gone away

I know your trail of tears, your slip of hand
Your monkey paw, your monkey claw
And your monkey hand

I've seen your trick of blood, your trap of fire
Your ancient wound, your scarlet moon
And your jailhouse smile

So dry your eyes
And turn your head away
Now there's nothing more to say
Now you're gone away

I'll miss your urchin smile, your orphan tears
Your shining prize, your tiny cries
Your little fears
I'll miss your fairground hair, your seaside eyes
Your vampire tooth, your little truth
And your tiny lies

So dry your eyes
And turn your head away
Now there's nothing more to say
Now you're gone away

 

[fox69]

"Lay Me Low"

"Lay Me Low"


They're gonna lay me low (Lay me low)
They're gonna sink me in the snow
They're gonna throw back their heads and crow
When I go

They're gonna jump and shout (Lay me low)
They're gonna wave their arms about
All the stories will come out
When I go

All the stars will glow bright (Lay me low)
And my friends will give up the fight
They'll see my work in a different light
When I go

They'll try telephoning my mother (Lay me low)
But they'll end up getting my brother
Who'll spill the story on some long-gone lover
That I hardly know

Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And I'll show you how it works
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now don't care how
Take your final bow
Make a stand Take my hand
And blow it all to hell

They gonna inform the police chief (Lay me low)
Who'll breathe a sigh of relief
He'll say I was a malanderer, a badlander, and a thief
When I go

They will interview my teachers (Lay me low)
Who'll say I was one of God's sorrier creatures
They'll print informative six-page features
When I go

They'll bang a big old gong (Lay me low)
The motorcade will be ten miles long
The world will join together for a farewell song
When they put me down below

They'll sound a fluegelhorn (Lay me low)
And the sea will rage, and the sky will storm
All man and beast will mourn
When I go

Hats off to the man
On top of the world
Come crawl up here, baby
And we can watch this damn thing turn
If you wanna be my friend
And you wanna repent
And you want it all to end
And you wanna know when
Well do it now Do it now
Take a long last bow
Take my hand Make a stand
And blow it all to hell

Lay me low...
When I go...

 

[fox69]

"Let The Bells Ring"

"Let The Bells Ring"


C'mon, kind Sir, let's walk outside
And breathe the autumn air
See the many that have lived and died
See the unending golden stair
See all of us that have come behind
Clutching at your hem
All the way from Arkansas
To your sweet and last amen

Let the bells ring
He is the real thing
Let the bells ring
He is the real, real thing

Take this deafening thunder down
Take this bread and take this wine
Your passing is not what we mourn
But the world you left behind
Well, do not breathe, nor make a sound
And behold your mighty work
That towers over the uncaring ground
Of a lesser, darker world

Let the bells ring
He is the real thing
Let the bells ring
He is the real, real thing

There are those of us not fit to tie
The laces of your shoes
Must remain behind to testify
Through an elementary blues
So, let's walk outside, the hour is late
Through your crumbs and scattered shells
Where the awed and the mediocre wait
Barely fit to ring the bells

Let the bells ring
He is the real thing
Let the bells ring
He is the real, real thing

 

[fox69]

"Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)"

"Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)"


Well, you lost a foe
And found yourself a friend

(Lie down here & be my girl)
I'm back now, baby, that man

He won't be coming round here again

(Lie down here & be my girl)

I'm trying to tread careful, baby
You're as brittle as the wishbone of a bird

(Lie down here & be my girl)

We've been scribbled in the margins of a story
That's patently absurd

(Lie down here & be my girl)

And let it all come down tonight
We can shine, shine
Let it all come down

(Be my girl, be my girl)

It's a matter of some urgency, oh darling, can't you see
I can't hold back the tide

(Lie down here & be my girl)

And stop your frantic little fingers trying to collect the years
That pour from the hole in my side

(Lie down here & be my girl)

Oh, don't worry, baby, this old snake banging on your door
Has got a few skins left to shed

(Lie down here & be my girl)

Oh, you look so good, you look so good
The rest is better left unsaid

(Lie down here & be my girl)

And let it all come down tonight
And shine, oh, we can shine
Let it all come down
Tonight

(Be my girl, yeah, be my girl)

You look so good, you look so good

One day I'll buy a factory
And assemble you on a production line

(Lie down here & be my girl)

I'd buy a million of you, baby
And every single one of them will be mine

(Lie down here & be my girl)

I will fill the house with you, stack you up in every room
We'll have a real good time

(Lie down here & be my girl)

But right now, I'm sitting here on my own
Going out of my mind

(Lie down here & be my girl)

And let it all come down tonight
And shine, oh, we can shine
Let it all come down
Tonight

You look so good, you look so good

 

[fox69]

"Lightning Bolts"

"Lightning Bolts"


Two lightning bolts were delivered to my room,
They were gifts from Zeus.
I rock the bolts in a bassinet of pine.

People ask me how I am,
I say I’m all right, I’m fine.

I push the lightning bolts in a pram,
Till the sun goes down and it gets dark,
And the girls from Jubilee Street hang out their windows,
And they wave and ask me how I am tonight.
I say I’m good, I’m all right.

In Athens all the youths are crying from the gas.
I’m by the hotel pool working on a tan.
People come up and ask me who I am.
I say if you don’t know, don’t ask.

Zeus laughs – but it’s the gas.
And he asks me how I am.
I say Zeus, don’t ask.

My lightning bolts are jolts of joy,
They are joy boys from Zeus.
I feed them porridge in their booster seats of knowledge.
And in the cradle of democracy, the pigeons are wearing gas masks.

My lightning bolts play in the elevators,
They slide down the hotel banister,
And Zeus throws a gas canister,
And it spins around the pool,
As pigeons wearing respirators steal the lightning bolts.
Zeus wants them back.

O my bolts of joy,
O my darling little boys.
They are lost to us.
And people...
They are never coming back.

At night I watch them sleep,
And cry years of tears,
And it’s not the gas.

People ask me how we are
We are, I say, mostly lost.

 

[fox69]

"Little Empty Boat"

"Little Empty Boat"


You found me at some party
You thought I'd understand
You barreled over to me
With a drink in each hand
I respect your beliefs, girl,
And I consider you a friend,
But I've already been born once,
I don't wanna to be born again.

Your knowledge is impressive
And your argument is good
But I am the resurrection, babe,
And you're standing on my foot!

But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row
But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row
(Row!)

Your tiny little face
Keeps yapping in the gloom
Seven steps behind me
With your dustpan and broom.
I couldn't help but imagine you
All postured and prone
But there's a little guy on my shoulder
Says I should go home alone.
You keep leaning in on me
And you're looking pretty pissed
That grave you've dug between your legs
Is hard to resist.

But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row
But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row

Give to God what belongs to God
And give the rest to me
Tell our gracious host to fuck himself
It's time for us to leave.

But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row
But my little boat is empty
It don't go
And my oar is broken
It don't row, row, row
Row...row...row...row...