Born and raised in rural Victoria, Cave studied art before fronting The Birthday Party, one of Melbourne's leading post-punk bands, in the late 1970s. They relocated to London in 1980, but, disillusioned by life there, evolved towards a darker, more challenging sound, and acquired a reputation as "the most violent live band in the world". At this time, Cave, with his shock of black hair and pale, emaciated look, became an unwilling gothic rock poster boy. Soon after the band's break-up in 1983, Cave formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Much of the band's early material was set in a mythic American Deep South, drawing on spirituals and Delta blues, while Cave's preoccupation with Old Testament notions of good versus evil culminated in what has been called his signature song, "The Mercy Seat" (1988). The 1990s saw Cave achieve greater commercial success with quieter, piano-driven ballads, notably the Kylie Minogue duet "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (1996), and "Into My Arms" (1997). More recent releases, including the band's 17th and latest LP, Ghosteen (2019), feature increasingly abstract lyrics from Cave, as well as elements of ambient and electronic music. Grinderman, Cave's garage rock side project, has released two albums since 2006.
Cave co-wrote, scored and starred in the 1988 Australian prison film Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988), directed by John Hillcoat. He also wrote the screenplay for Hillcoat's bushranger film The Proposition (2005), and composed the soundtrack with frequent collaborator Warren Ellis. The pair's film score credits include The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), The Road (2009), Lawless (2012), and Hell or High Water (2016). Cave is the subject of several films, including the semi-fictional "day in the life" 20,000 Days on Earth (2014), and the documentary One More Time with Feeling (2016). Cave has also released two novels: And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989) and The Death of Bunny Munro (2009).
Cave's work has become the subject of academic study, and his songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, including Johnny Cash ("The Mercy Seat"), Metallica ("Loverman") and Snoop Dogg ("Red Right Hand"). He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007, and named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017.
Fire and Brimstone
Nick Cave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the whole world was standing still and the moon was turning red.
I saw a sign in the sky, I have come to set you free
There's a light shining bright, shining down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head.
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free
And the sun was standing still, it was dark, but I could see.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I looked around, I saw hoards, I heard a voice say "come to me"
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire, fire, fire and brimstone.
I saw fire, I saw fire, I saw fire coming down
I saw fire, fire and brimstone, fire and brimstone coming down.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire.
The lyrics of Nick Cave’s song "Fire and Brimstone" have a dream-like quality, and seem to depict a surreal, apocalyptic landscape. The singer describes himself as having dreamed that the world has stopped turning and the moon had turned red; he then hears a voice telling him that he has been “set free,” and sees a bright light shining down on him. However, this sense of liberation quickly evaporates, and the singer’s world is soon engulfed in flames and sulfur, as “fire and brimstone” rain down on him. Throughout the song, there is a sense of chaos and dislocation, with the world “shaking free” and the sun standing still.
It is worth noting that “fire and brimstone” is a phrase used in Christian theology to describe the punishment that awaits sinners in Hell. Consequently, it seems plausible that the singer’s dream is a vision of the end of the world and the ultimate judgment day. However, the song is not particularly explicit in its religious themes, and could also be read as a more general allegory about fear, oppression, and the search for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a dream last night while I was laying in my bed
The singer had a dream while they were in bed.
And the whole world was standing still and the moon was turning red.
The world was motionless and the moon had turned red in the dream.
I saw a sign in the sky, I have come to set you free
The singer saw a sign in the sky and interpreted it as a message of liberation.
There's a light shining bright, shining down, down on me.
A bright light was shining down on the artist in the dream.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
The artist saw fire and brimstone falling on them from above.
I look around, I saw hoards, I heard a voice say "come to me"
The singer looked around and saw crowds of people, and heard a voice calling them to come.
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free
The singer felt the ground shaking and the entire world seemed to be breaking apart.
And the sun was standing still, it was dark, but I could see.
Despite the darkness, the artist could see that the sun had stopped moving.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
The artist continued to see fire and brimstone raining down on them.
I saw fire, fire, fire, fire and brimstone.
The artist saw an intense amount of fire and brimstone.
I saw fire, I saw fire, I saw fire coming down
The singer saw fire raining down on them multiple times.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone, fire and brimstone coming down.
The artist continued to see fire and brimstone falling on them.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
The singer saw fire and brimstone falling on them from above.
I saw fire.
The singer saw fire.
Lyrics © ESTATE OF VERNON A. WRAY SR., Peermusic Publishing, VOILA MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRED LINCOLN WRAY JR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
moenbase
on Nick Cave & Enya - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Don't fear the reaper isn't sung by Cave. It's H.I.M. And... the lyrics is from a completely different song; Disco 2000, original by Pulp, but yea, also sung by Cave.