A Box For Black Paul A very dark song that in some ways echoes the theme of Paul Simon's Who will love a little Sparrow. This is deep, deep blues and I gather it should be as disturbing as it is. Certainly an epic at over nine minutes. Lyrics Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Ah'm enquirin on behalf of his soul Ah'd be beholdin to ya all For a lil information, just a little indication Just who'll dig the hole? When ya done ransackin' his room grabbin any damn thing that shines, throw the scraps down on the street Like all his books and his notes. All his books and his notes and All the junk that he wrote the whole ****en lot right up in smoke Ain't there nuthin sacred anymore Won't someone will build a box for Black Paul? And their shootin off his guns and their shootin off their mouths saying '**** with us ... and die!' '**** with us ... and die!' (Let's see that rat of fear go scuttle in their skulls) 'Cover that eye! Cover that frozen eye!' Black-puppet, in a heap up against the stoning-wall Black-puppet, go to sleep, ma-ma won't scold ya anymore Armies of ants, wade up the lil red streams they're headin for the mother-pool O lord, it's cruel! O man it's hot! O man it's hot and And some of them ants they just climb to the spot Who threw the first stone at Black Paul? 'Don't ask us', say the critics and the hacks The pen-pushers and the quacks 'We jes cum to git dah facks!' 'We jes cum to git dah facks!' Hey, hey, hey, hey... Here is the hammer, that built the scaffold, and built the box... Here is the shovel, that dug the hole, in this ground of rocks... And here is the pile of stones! and for each one planted, God only knows, a blood-rose grown... These are the true Demon-Flowers! These are the true Demon-Flowers! Stand back everyone! Blood-black everyone! Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Who'll carry it up the hill? 'Not I', said the widow, adjusting her veil 'Ah will not drive the nail Or cart his puppet-body home, For ah done that one hundred times before, Yeah! ah done that one hundred times or more, And why should ah dress his wounds? When he has wounded my dress, nightly, Right across the floor' Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Who'll carry it up the hill? Who'll bury it in the black-soil? And from the woods and the thickets Come the ghosts of his victims 'We love you!' 'Ah love you!' 'and this will not hurt a bit, Outta my eyes was your rise to full glory Spring up from the corp of life We'll go up, up, up, up, up into Death up, up, up, up, inhale its breath O yes, Death favours those that favor Death' Here is the stone, and this is the inscription it bare: 'Below Lies Black Paul, Under The Upper... But Above and Beyond The Surface-Flat-Fall There.' And all the angels come on down, And all you men and women crowd around And all the old widows weeping into their skirts And all the lil gals and the lil Boys And the scribes with their pens poised All the hullaballoo, all the norse All the hullaballoo, all the noise All the hullaballoo, all of the noise clears his throat of black blood singin Black Paul like a lonely boy... We-e-e-ll, ah have cried one thousand tears Ah've cried a thousand tears, its true And the next stormy night you know, That ah'm still cryin them for you Well, ah had a gal she was so sweet, Red dress, and long red hair hangin down And heaven yes ain't heaven Without that lil girl hangin around Well, ya know ah've beenn a bad-man and Lord knows ah done some good things too But ah confess, my soul will never rest Until you've, until you've build Until you've built a box for my gal, too. my gal, too my gal, too
The Firstborn Is Dead Studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Released June 3, 1985 Recorded November - December 1984 Genre Post-punk, blues rock Length 40:37 Label Mute Records Producer Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Flood The Firstborn Is Dead is the second studio album released by the post-punk band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was first released in 1985. On this record, singer Nick Cave continued his fascination with the American South, with its references to Elvis Presley and bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson. The photography is by Jutta Heinglein. The album was recorded in the Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany. Cave later said of this album, "Berlin gave us the freedom and encouragement to do whatever we wanted. We'd lived in London for three years and it seemed that if you stuck your head out of the box, people were pretty quick to knock it back in. Particularly if you were Australian. When we came to Berlin it was the opposite. People saw us as some kind of force rather than a kind of whacky novelty act."[8] The album's name is a reference to Jesse Garon Presley, the stillborn identical twin of Elvis Presley.[9] The album was remastered and reissued on April 27, 2009 as a collector's edition CD/DVD set. The CD features the original 7-song vinyl LP's track listing, while "The Six Strings That Drew Blood" is featured as a bonus audio track on the accompanying DVD. The band continued to explore their interpretation of blues, with a lot of call and response vocals. The extremism of The Birthday started to ebb away with this album and the band started to fully move towards having their own distinct identity with this album.
Tupelo Cave's fascination with the deep south of the U.S. comes to the fore fully with this song. It explores one of his heroes, in Elvis, in Cave's own inimitable way. Lyrics Looka yonder! Looka yonder! Looka yonder! A big black cloud come! A big black cloud come! O comes to Tupelo. Comes to Tupelo Yonder on the horizon Yonder on the horizon Stopped at the mighty river Stopped at the mighty river and Sucked the damn thing dry Tupelo-o-o, O Tupelo In a valley hides a town called Tupelo Distant thunder rumble. Distant thunder rumble Rumble hungry like the Beast The Beast it cometh, cometh down The Beast it cometh, cometh down Wo wo wo-o-o Tupelo bound. Tupelo-o-o. Yeah Tupelo The Beast it cometh, Tupelo bound Why the hen won't lay no egg Can't get that cock to crow The nag is spooked and crazy O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo! Ya can say these streets are rivers Ya can call these rivers streets Ya can tell ya self ya dreaming buddy But no sleep runs this deep No! No sleep runs this deep No sleep runs this deep Women at their windows Rain crashing on the pane Writing in the frost Tupelos' shame. Tupelo's shame O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo! O go to sleep lil children The sandmans on his way O go to sleep lil children The sandmans in his way But the lil children know They listen to the beating of their blood listen to the beating of their blood listen to the beating of their blood listen to the beating of their blood They listen to the beating of their blood The sandman's mud! The sandman's mud! And the black rain come down the black rain come down the black rain come down Water water everywhere Where no bird can fly no fish can swim Where no bird can fly no fish can swim No fish can swim Until The King is born! Until The King is born! In Tupelo! Tupelo-o-o! Til The King is born in Tupelo! In a clap-board shack with a roof of tin Where the rain came down and leaked within A young mother frozen on a concrete floor With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo! With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw Well Saturday gives what Sunday steals And a child is born on his brothers heels Come Sunday morn the first-born dead In a shoebox tied with a ribbon of red Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo! In a shoebox buried with a ribbon of red O ma-ma rock you lil' one slow O ma-ma rock your baby O ma-ma rock your lil' one slow O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo! Mama rock your lil' one slow The lil one will walk on Tupelo The lil one will walk on Tupelo Black rain come down, Black rain come down Tupelo-o-o! Yeah Tupelo! And carry the burden of Tupelo Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo! Yeah! The King will walk on Tupelo! Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo! He carried the burden outa Tupelo! Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo! You will reap just what you sow
Say GoodBye To The Little Girl Tree Lyrics O say goodbye to the little girl tree O you know that I must say goodbye To the little girl tree This wall I built around you Is made out of stone-lies O little girl the truth would be An axe in thee O father look to your daughter Brick of grief and stricken morter With this ring This silver hoop of wire I bind your maiden mainstem Just to keep you as a child O say goodbye to the little girl tree O you know that I must say goodbye To my little girl tree How fast your candy bones Reached out for me I must say goodbye to your brittle bones Crying out for me O you know that I must say goodbye O goodbye Even though you will betray me The very minute that I leave O say goodbye to the little girl tree O Lord you know that I must say goodbye To that little girl tree I rise up her girl-child lumps and slipping knots Into her laden boughs And amongst her roping limbs Like a swollen neck vein branching Into smaller lesser veins That must all just sing and say goodbye And let her blossom veils fly Her velvet gown Down down down Down down down Down down down and goodbye For you know that I must say goodbye To a rhythm softly tortured Of a motion back and forth Thats a rhythm sweetly tortured O that's the rhythm of the orchard And you know that I must say goodbye To that little girl tree O goodbye Yes goodbye For you know that I must die Down down down Down down down Down down down and goodbye For you know that I must die Yes you know that I must die O-o you know that I must die
Train Long-suffering A more uptempo, rollicking call and response song. Lyrics Woo-wooooooo Woo! In the name of pain! (In the name of pain and suffering) In the name of pain! (In the name of pain and suffering) There comes a train! (There comes a train) Yeah! A long black train (There comes a train) Lord, a long black train Woo-woo! Woo-woo! Punched from the tunnel (The tunnel of love is long and lonely) Engines steaming like a fist (A fistful of memories) Into the jolly jaw of morning (Yeah! O yeah!) O baby it gets smashed! (You know that it gets smashed) O baby it gets smashed! (You know that it gets smashed) I kick every goddamn splinter Into all the looking eyes in the world Into all the laughing eyes Of all the girls in the world Oooooo-woooooh She ain't never comin back She ain't never comin back She ain't never comin back She ain't never comin back And the name of the pain is... And the name of the pain is... And the name of the pain is... And the name of the pain is... The name of the pain is A train long-suffering On rails of pain (On rails of pain and suffering) There comes a train (There comes a train long-suffering) On rails of pain (On rails of pain and suffering) O baby blow its whistle in the rain Woo-oo Woo! Woo-oo Woo! Who's the engine driver? (The engine drivers over yonder) His name is Memory (His name is Memory) O Memory is his name (Woooooo-wo!) Destination: Misery (Pain and misery) O pain and misery (Pain and misery) O pain and misery Hey! Hey! (Pain and misery) Hey! That's a sad lookin sack! Oooh that's a sad lookin sack! And the name of the pain is... And the name of the pain is... Ooh the name of the pain is A train long-suffering There is a train! (It's got a name) Yeah! It's a train long-suffering O Lord a train! (A long black train) Lord! Of pain and suffering Each night so black (O yeah! So black) And in the darkness of my sack I'm missing you baby (I'm missing you) And I just dunno what to do (dunno what to do) (Train long-suffering) (Train long-suffering) (Train long-suffering) (Train long-suffering) O she ain't never comin back O she ain't never comin back O she ain't never comin back O she ain't never comin back And the name of the pain is... And the name of the pain is... The name of the train is... The name of the train is Pain and suffering
Black Crow King Again we have the old call and response blues. This album almost qualifies as a blues album, all except for the strange tilt that Cave and the band put in the songs. Another thing to know about this song is that the title the Black Crow King stuck to Cave for a while. Separating the artist from the art and the poet from the poem is often a difficult task for the listener. Lyrics 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
Knocking On Joe “Knockin’ On Joe” adopts a term used by prisoners in the U.S. to describe the desperate measures some would take to avoid hard labour while serving time: damaging their own fingers, hands, legs, like hot-headed Cool Hand Lukes. “You can’t hurt me any more!” Like many of Cave’s most lyrical moments it touches on suffering elevated to transcendence, lifted to a state of cold-eyed near-Zen, self-mutilation as a pre-emptive strike. The most desperate of blues songs here presents us with this scenario, one most of us will never face. Lyrics 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
I believe Cave was writing And The Ass Saw The Angel around this time -- the album and the novel go together pretty well thematically anyhow. Nick Cave's weird take on Southern Gothic / Faulkner / Presley stuff was definitely original and had artistic depth but I'm not sure how well it has aged. The 80s were consumed by the concept of art-as-transgression and Cave was quite a transgressor. Seems to me. There would come a period ( a few albums from now in this here great thread) where the phenomenon of the original die-hard fans eschewing the artist's later, more subtle work would find a unique variant with Nick Cave. Seems most people were cool with following him out of the transgressive Beefheartish slime into some variety of "Beautiful Music" (as he eventually learned to use his voice as an instrument not a weapon, to paraphrase NC himself) Firstborn is Dead is an amazing album and truly great production on this and on the next one. Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, can't go wrong -- Bowie, Iggy etc!!
Nicely stated. I have sort of hurried through these to get to where the band really found themselves, imo, on your funeral my trial. From that point, except for one album i am not big on, they have been fantastic.
This is a good approach in 2018 -- for an audiophile oriented forum I can't believe the albums starting in this period don't have more of an audience. These are fantastic pressings, fantastic clean production obviously taking most of its cues from classic sounds....Your Funeral was 2x LPs at 45 rpm if I recall, even (it's now too expensive to be on my "re-buy" list I'm afraid and I'm vinyl only....
Tupelo is one of my favorite Cave songs. Great album opener and the passion of this song just grabs you.
The Tupelo single was a great package -- The Six Strings That Drew Blood was a great b-side, the sleeve was beautiful -- anyone else take Six Strings as some kind of homage to Blixa? or was it about Kid Congo Powers?!?
Wanted Man This must be one of the ultimate versions of this song. The song pulses along like a highway or a train, refusing to abate its motion for anyone or anything. Lyrics I'm a wanted man, wanted man I'm wanted, I'm a wanted man Oh yeah Yeah Ah honey, I'm a wanted man I'm a wanted man in California, I'm a wanted man in Buffalo I'm a wanted man in Kansas City, I'm a wanted man in Ohio I'm a wanted man in Mississippi, they want me in old Cheyenne Wherever you may look tonight, you will see this wanted man I might be in Colorado or Georgia by the sea, Working for some man who may not know at all who I might be If you ever see me comin' and you know justa who I am, Don't breathe a word to no one buddy, 'cause I'm a wanted man Wanted man in Albuquerque, wanted man in Syracuse, Wanted man in Tallahassee, wanted man in Baton Rouge, Wanted man in Arizona, wanted man in Galveston, Wanted man in El Dorado, this wanted man's in great demand If you ever catch me sleepin', Just see the price flashin' 'bove my head, Well take look again my friend, That's a gun pointed at your head Wanted man by Lucy Watson, wanted man by Jesse Brown, Wanted man by Nellie Johnson, wanted man in this next town Wanted man by the Boller(?) Sisters, Wanted man by Kid Callahan Hey Darlin' don't you tell me you don't want me, Cause I'm a wanted man A wanted man who's lost his will to live, A wanted man who won't lay down, There's a woman kneelin' on my grave, Pushin' daisies in the ground Wanted man in the Windy City, wanted man in Tennessee, Wanted man in Broken Arrow, wanted man in Wounded Knee Wanted man in Jackson Town, Wanted man in El Passo, I got bounties on my head in towns I wouldn't ever think to go Wanted Man in Arizona, wanted man in Louisville, Wanted man deep in Death Valley, Wanted man up in the Hollywood Hill If the Devil comes collectin', Cause he doesn't know I'm a wanted man, He'd better wear a six gun on his hip And hold another in his hand If you love the wanted man, You best hold him while you can, Cause you're gonna wake up one mornin' And find the man you wanted, he is gone Wanted man in New York City, wanted man in San Anton' Wanted man down in Lorado, wanted man in Tupelo Wanted man in the state of Texas, wanted man in the state of Maine This wanted man's in the state of leavin' ya baby, Jumpin' on a midnight train Wanted man in every cat house, wanted man in a many saloons, Wanted man is a ghost in hundred homes, a shadow in a thousand rooms Wanted man down in St. Louis, wanted man in New Orleans Wanted man in Mussel(?) Bay, wanted man in Cripple Creek Wanted man in Detriot City, wanted man in San Anton' But there's one place I'm not wanted lord, It's the place that I call home Wanted man Wanted man If the devil comes collectin' He better hold a six gun in his hand
Blind Lemon Jefferson Another great homage to the blues. The atmospheres that the Seeds managed to create on this album are quite remarkable. The is a certain abrasiveness across the first couple of Bad Seeds albums that is hard to ignore and give some listeners great pleasure and some great annoyance, but either way there is no denying that the band had its own sound and feel. Whether that abrasiveness appeals to you or not, a close listen to all the bands masterworks will reveal its existence in the foundation of the bands sound. This track is quite sensational in its atmosphere and the way all the members of the band contribute to its effectiveness. Lyrics Bline Lemon Jefferson is a-coming. Tap tap tappin with his cane. Bline Lemon Jefferson is a-coming. Tap tap tappin with his cane. His last ditch lies 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 hop'n'bop 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!
Kicking Against the Pricks Studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Released 18 August 1986 Genre Post-punk Length 44:48 Label Mute Records Producer Flood, Tony Cohen Kicking Against the Pricks is the third album released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of cover versions. The title is a reference to a biblical quote from acts 9, verse 5 from Acts of the Apostles: I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks The album marked the Bad Seeds debut of drummer Thomas Wydler, expanding the Bad Seeds line-up to Cave, Wydler, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld and Barry Adamson. Cave would later downplay the importance of the record, but said it helped the band develop musically: It allowed us to discover different elements, to actually make and perform a variety of different sorts of music successfully. I think that helped subsequent records tremendously.[7] Remarking on the song selection, Cave said: They were all done for different reasons. Basically a list of songs were made and we tried to play them. We tried songs by The Loved Ones and The Saints and all sorts of people that never got on the record. Some songs were tributes, like the Tom Jones song; other songs we didn't think the song was ever done particularly well in the first place. Some songs had just kind of haunted my childhood, like "The Carnival is Over", which I always loved.[8] The strings were arranged by Mick Harvey and played by the Berliner Kaffeehausmusik Ensemble. "The Hammer Song" is not to be confused with the song of the same name from the 1990 Bad Seeds album The Good Son. The album was remastered and reissued on April 27, 2009 as a collector's edition CD/DVD set. The CD features the original 12-song vinyl LP's track listing, while "Black Betty" and "Running Scared" are featured as bonus audio tracks on the accompanying DVD. Recordings of seven of these songs, performed by the "original" artists, were later issued on the Original Seedscompilation CDs. I think this album worked in many ways. Firstly it gave the band a better idea of who and where they were. It gave them some guidelines for structure, as most of the songs they had done so far were based on atmospheric soundtracks rather than structures as such. I think this was an important album for the band to make in this regard and as stated above was a very important step in the bands growth and development. Everything that came after this record was just growth into a better and better band with much better constructed songs and much more musical albums.
Here are a few songs from this album. Being an album of covers, I'm not going to run through them all.
Another aspect to these songs, is that Cave was paying attention to singing the songs, rather than spitting out the words with venom. That my have annoyed some fans of the Birthday Party and the earlier albums, but it gave the band room to grow and also contributed ten fold to the bands longevity. In certain songs particularly "by the time I get to Phoenix" and "the carnival is over" there is a beauty and fragility that had been avoided in prior recordings. This in itself was also key to the development of the band.
Wow, OP you are really rushing through all the albums! As young punk I listened in the early '80s with great pleasure to all the albums of The Birthday Party (for people unfamiliair with that band, I always described their sound as 'James Brown on speed' ). I was however a bit disappointed by the first album of Nick Cave with his Bad Seeds; most of the songs were not strong enough to me. It was however the second album, 'The Firstborn is Dead', which made me a great fan of Nick Cave for ever. It was such a wonderfull album, about the mythical South which was for both Nick Cave (as Aussie) and for me (as European) a Big Unknown you would like to visit or even part of. Far too much romanticed by both of us of course. We knew better with all the racism and bigotry you could find in the past (and partly still there) in those Southern states, , but it is/was very attractive for both of us for its stories and wild beauty... Not only Cave's lyrics were great at that album, the sound was also remarkable. It was strange sounding to me,... Not a kind of post-punk which I listened to mostly in the eighties, no, it was more a kind of blues,... but thank God not the awfull bluesy sound (rythm and blues) we have heard for a long time being played by mostly boring white American and English bands/musicians and which the punk movement have killed - thank God - for at least 90 percent. No, Cave's (or should I say Blixa Bargeld's?) blues were completeley differently sounding, which - by the way - some another punk, Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club, used to play also, but then at his particular own, great way. Yes, both band sounds were blues orientated, but it was performed at a complete other way as we used to hear it before the punk revolution. That Cave album was a beauty in sound (that thunder as start of the song 'Tupelo'!) and gave us great songs about men on the run, old blues singers and learned us more about the place of birth of the new king, the King of Rock'n Roll. The Firstborn is Dead was...like a forgotten part of the Old Testament. Cruelty all over but great to witness....
