The Birthday Party

[sondria]

The Birthday Party​

Six Strings That Drew Blood


I said HAIL
I said hail the six strings
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Six strings that drew blood

Six strings! Six strings!
Six strings! Six strings!
Yeah, six strings that drew blood... blood

He got six strings! Six strings!
Six strings, baby! Six strings!

Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail... the six strings that drew blood

Guitar thug blew into town
His eyes like wheels spinnin' round
And jerkin' off at every sound
Bitin' his tongue and beatin' the ground
He got six strings

The mongrel foams, the mongrel barks
And dogs him deep into the dark
And it answers to the name of art
And could tear his mortal coil in half
He got six strings

I said hail
I said hail the six strings
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Six strings that drew blood

He got six strings! Six strings!
He got six strings! Six strings!
He got six strings that drew blood

Yeah, six strings, baby! Six strings!
Six strings! Six strings!

Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail the six strings that drew blood
Hail... the six strings that drew blood... blood

And in the bathroom under cover
Turns on one tap to discover
He's smashed his teeth out on the other
And to the mirror he says, "hey, don't fuck me, brother
I got six strings!"

Shooting death into his veins
Top-E as a tourniquet
But, he won't scare those rats of sound away
That plague both the master and the slave
Of the six strings

And I wrote these words across his grave...

I said hail
I said hail the six strings
Hail the six strings that drew blood
He got six strings that drew blood

Six strings! Six strings!
He got six strings! Six strings!
He got six strings that drew blood

Yeah, six strings! Six strings, baby!
Six strings! Six strings!

Hail the six strings that drew blood (x7)

Hail!



*text - Nick Cave
*music - Rowland S. Howard
​

 

[sondria]

Blundertown

Blundertown

Blundertown is drowned in no brainstorm
smothered in mud at the foot of the river
the color vague is slapped around stupid
blood dries to a very dull color

I'm drowning and there is no relief from

It's only 12,000 miles to heaven
but the car is broken and we're all well-spoken
I've met three people but I don't think they like me
and we all talk about the state of the weather

I'm drowning and there is no relief from

And everything I say are my own thoughts
Don't listen to my very dull brother

I'm drowning and there is no relief from


* text and music - Rowland S. Howard
​

 

[sondria]

Sonny's Burning


Sonny's Burning

Hands up who want to die

Have you heard how Sonny's burning
Like some bright erotic star?
And He lights up the proceedings
And raises the temperature.
Flame on! Flame on!


Now I've seen to Sonny's burning
Someday I think I'll cut him down
But it can get so cold in here
And he gives off such an evil heat.
Flame on! Flame on!
Hail my incubatic incubator.


Now pay witness to Sonny's burning
Warming the damp and rotten seed
Warming the damp and rotten seed
That blooms into the DEMON FLOWER
Now both fire and flowers consume me.

Flame on! Flame on!

Evil heat is running through me
Flame on! Flame on!
Sonny's burning pits into me
Flame on! Flame on!
Sonny's burning holes into me
Don't interrupt! Don't interrupt!
Flame on! Flame on!



*text - Nick Cave
*music - Rowland S. Howard, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew

​

 

[sondria]

Several Sins


Several Sins

This is a dead letter tale
If I could make this print talk
You made a deep mark/deep mark on me
and only saints say such things as these
so I slid under the floor
under the oak and the iron
with you under oak and iron
under the thick and under the thin
where only fire grows

I forgot to tell you several things-Ma
I forgot to tell you 'bout the 7 sins

And I spat dead letter words
and all the breath that I own​

imprinted one word in red/I read

And only saints say such things as these
(about the marks on your throat)
Under the oak and the iron
under the fat and the thick and the thin
and all of that, and a few 100 more
and only fire grow
I heard the fire grow
Alone in the...

I forgot to tell you several things-Ma
I forgot to tell you 'bout the 7 sins... ​

*text - Rowland S. Howard
*music - Harry Howard

​

 

[sondria]

King Ink


King Ink

King Ink strolls into town
he sniffs around

King Ink kicks off his stink-boot
sand and soot and dust and dirt and
he's much bigger than you think
A King Ink,
A King Ink, a wake up,
A King Ink, a get up,

A King Ink, a wake up, A King Ink, a get up,

A get up, a get up, a get up, a get up, a get up

Up up up up up up up up up up

AAAAHHHH!

A bug crawls up the wall

King Ink feels like a bug
and he hates his rotten shell
He says
Cha-cha-cha's

King Ink, a wake up, King Ink a get up
King Ink, wake up, King Ink get up

A get up, a get up, a get up, a get up, a get up

A whats in that room?
A whats in that house?
A whats in that room?
A whats in that house?

Say something, express thyself
Say something, express yourself
Express, say something loudly ahh

AAAAHHHH!

A whats in that room?
A whats in that house?
Sand and soot and dust and dirt
And sand and soot and dust and dirt
And di-di-dirt

King ink feels like a bug
Swimming in a soup-bowl
He says oh yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life

Oh yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life
Oh yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life
Oh yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life...
Oh yer, oh yer,
fats domino on the radio

Yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life
Oh yer, oh yer, what a wonderful life
Oh yer, oh yer, fats domino on the radio
Yer, oh yer


*text - Nick Cave
*music - Rowland S. Howard, Nick Cave
​

 

[sondria]

Zoo Music Girl


Zoo Music Girl

Zoo-music girl, zoo-music girl...
Our ligfe together is a hollow tooth,
spit out the shells, spit out the shells,
You know exactly what I'm talking about
Don't drag the orchestra into this thing
Rattle those sticks, rattle those sticks
The sound is beautiful, its perfect!
The sound of her young legs in stockings
the rhythem of her walk, it's beautiful
Just let it twist, let it break
let it buckle, let it bend
I wnat the noise of my zoo music girl
zoo-music girl zoo-music girl...

My body is a monster driven insane
my heart is a fish toasted by flames I kiss the hem of her skirt
We spend our lives in a box full of dirt
I murder her dress and she loves it
If there is one thing I desire in the world is to make love to my zoo-muic girl
zoo-music girl, zoo-music girl...

The sound is beautiful! It's perfect!
I call out her name in the night
Zoo-music girl zoo-music girl
I call her by her family name
zoo-music girl zoo-music girl
Oh God! Please let me die beneath her fists
Zoo-Music Girl Zoo-music girl

Zoo-music girl...


*text- Nick Cave
*music - Rowland S. Howard

​

 

[sondria]

Ho-Ho


Ho-Ho

Worn and gnawn
a little hole
just a small hole
letting in a sick wind
in small puffs


yo-ho hole
yo-ho hole
through which blow
a small sick wind
yo-ho hole
yo-ho-hole
puff puff
the sick wind blows


slupping stitches leading to so slight a hole
slipping in a sick wind
slippery sickly wind


yo-ho-hole
yo-ho-hole
across the threshole
a little sick wind
yo-ho-hole
yo-ho-hole
yo-ho
the sick wind blows


*text- Rowland S. Howard
*music - Genevieve McGuckin

​

 

[sondria]

Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow)


Hamlet (Pow, Pow, Pow)

Hamlet's fishin' in the grave, fishin' in the grave
Through the custard bones and stuff
He ain't got no friend in there, no he ain't got no friend in there
I believe our man's in love

Hamlet got a gun-now
He wears a crucifix, he wears a crucifix
Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow
Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow

Hamlet move so beautiful, moves so beautiful
Walking through the flowers
Waving to the people all those beautiful people
Lying in the shadows

He's movin' down the streets, now
He likes the look of that Cadillac and now he wants that Cadillac
Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow

Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, yeah, pow, pow

Is this love some kinda love,
is this love some kinda love

Now he's comin' down my street
He's crawling up my stairs, he's coming to my room
He's knocking on my door

Where for art thou baby-face, where for art thou
Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow

Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow

Is this some love, is this some kinda love, is this some love,
pow
Is this love, is this some kinda love, is this love,
pow

He shoot it inside, he shoot it inside, he shoot it inside,
pow
He shoot it inside, he shoot it inside, he shoot it inside,
pow

Some kinda love
Don't let 'em steal your heart away
Don't let 'em steal your heart away
He went and stole my heart, pow

Don't let 'em steal your heart away
Don't let 'em steal your heart away
He went and stole my heart pow

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
pow
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
pow

Pow, pow, pow, pow


*text- Nick Cave
*music - Rowland S. Howard

​

 

[sondria]

Dull Day


Dull Day

The light from the window
falls on the floor
and after it breaks
I cut my feet
on the little bright pieces
I glow in the dark
But only when night falls
it's falling it's falling
it falls

My head is a night-club
club-clubbed to dull drums
beating to slow
to dance or to breathe or to dance
I insist that you cut in
I A La Flambe
i'm drinking i'm drinking...
I'm drunk​

*lyrics and music - Rowland S. Howard

​

 

[sondria]

Blast Off


Blast Off

Blast off
Wham bam

This time it's the truth
this time nothings gonna fall on through
these books
are broken up

Blast off!
Wham! bam!
Right off the shelf
Right off the shelf
Blast off!


This is it - the last one
This line's the final-in-a-fair-field-of-wheat
This building
Will may be fall down
Well Blast off!

Down down down
Down down the ground
Down down the ground
Down down the ground
Blast off
Blast off

Blast off
Blast off
Blast off
Blast off

Down down, down
Blast off
Blast off
Blast off
Blast off

Blast



*text and music - Rowland S. Howard

​