“I find that many of my favorite lyrics are those that I do not fully understand,” said Nick Cave, reflecting on songwriting in 2022. “They seem to exist in a world of their own—in a place of potentiality, adjacent to meaning.”
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He continued, “The words feel authentic or true but remain mysterious as if a greater truth lies just beyond our understanding. I see this, not just within a song, but within life itself, where awe and wonder live in the tension between what we understand and what we do not understand.”
An enigmatic of songwriting, for more than 40 years, Cave has coiled lyrics around love and loss, life and lust, disgust, and a torrent of subjects unbeknownst to those who don’t know the artist well.
Writing from his earliest days in Boys Next Door with the late Rowland S. Howard before they evolved into The Birthday Party, and through forming the Bad Seeds in the early ’80s and Grinderman by the mid-2000s, Cave has always remained a provocateur of stories.
Along with Bad Seeds and Grinderman bandmate Warren Ellis, Cave has also composed several scores, including the 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt, and Lawless — for which he also wrote the screenplay — and has a collection of collaborations with everyone from Johnny Cash, ex-partner PJ Harvey, Kylie Minogue, Shane MacGowan, Debbie Harry, and Neko Case, among many others.
Also a seasoned author, Cave has penned several books from King Ink in 1988 through Faith, Hope, and Carnage with Irish writer Seán O’Hagan in 2022.
Here’s a look at three songs one of the most sinuous storytellers also wrote for other artists.
1. “The Sweetest Embrace,” Barry Adamson (1996)
Written by Nick Cave and Barry Adamson
British composer, writer, and filmmaker Barry Adamson’s third album, Oedipus Schmoedipus, featured the track “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” which was featured in the 1997 David Lynch film Lost Highway. Conceived as a soundtrack, Oedipus Schmoedipus also features Pulp‘s Jarvis Cocker, who co-wrote and sings on the track “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Pelvis.” Cave also co-wrote and sang on “The Sweetest Embrace.” Co-founder of the British band Magazine, Adamson went on to work with Cave in The Birthday Party, the Bad Seeds, and both Grinderman albums.
Our time is done my love
We’ve laid it all to waste
One thousand moonlit kisses can’t
Sweeten this bitter taste
My desire for you is endless
And I’ll love you ’til we fall
I just don’t want you no more
And that’s the sweetest embrace of all
2. “Little Water Song,” Ute Lemper (2000)
Written by Nick Cave and Bruno Pisek
German artist Ute Lemper partnered with the Irish pop group The Divine Comedy for her 2000 album Punishing Kiss. The album features songs written by Elvis Costello, Phillip Glass, Tom Waits, and Cave, who co-wrote the track: “Little Water Song.”
Under here, you just take my breath away
Under here, the water flows over my head
I can hear the little fishes
Under here, whispering your most terrible name
Under here, they’ve given me starfish for eyes
And your head is a big red balloon
Under here, your huge hand is heavy on my chest
Ah, and under here, sir, your lovely voice retreats
And yes, you take my breath away
3. “There Is A Ghost,” Marianne Faithfull (2004)
Written by Nick Cave and Marianne Faithfull
For her 17th album, Before the Poison, Marianne Faithfull enlisted the help of Cave, PJ Harvey, Gorillaz, and Blur’s Damon Albarn, and Jon Brion (Til’ Tuesday) to co-write a number of the 10 tracks. Harvey penned five, while Cave co-wrote three songs with Faithfull — “Crazy Love,” “Desperanto,” and “There Is A Ghost.” All three Cave tracks also feature the Bad Seeds.
[RELATED: Nick Cave Reveals Rare North American Tour Without the Bad Seeds]
Cave also appeared on Faithfull’s 2008 album, Easy Come, Easy Go, for a duet on the cover of The Decemberists’ 2006 song “The Crane Wife 3.”
Before the poison, I wasn’t down
If you’d been there, if you’d been around
I couldn’t hear, couldn’t hear a sound
I was floating above the ground
Before the poison, I had lost my fear
Maybe too happy to even care
Safe in my dream, couldn’t see the fog
Comin’ on, coming from nowhere, my name to call
Photo by Joel Ryan / The Oriel PR
