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.
Old Time
Nick Cave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Birds fly low and you and me and the car are lost
Took a wrong turn somewhere
Into the old time
Into the old time, for sure
The trees are black and history
Has dragged us down to our knees
Everyone's dreams have died
Wherever you are, darling
I'm not that far behind
I'm not that far behind
By the side of the road is a thing with horns
That steps back into the trees
And a child is born
Upon this trembling earth
Displays each day
Thrown across the hallucination of your hair
A strip of ordinary sun, a biblical sun
A colonial sun, an enlightened sun
The same sun
Made always glorious at your head
Well, we stop in at a motel and go jumping into bed
Just like the old times
Yeah, wherever you are, darling, I'm not that far behind
With a lunatic beauty under a watery moon
You're melting by the motel swimming pool
'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' on the radio
Her moon to my shooting star
And I'm throwing my bags in the back of the car
Just like the old times
Just like old times, baby
And I'm not coming back this time
Ah, like the old days, darling
Like old days, I'm not coming back this time
Ah, like the old days, darling
Like old days, I'm not coming back this time
Like the old time
Like the old time
Wherever you are, darling
I'm not that far behind
The opening verse of "Old Time" by Nick Cave is a beautiful and melodic description of a dream-like ambiance occurring in the old time. Both the sound and words evoke the feeling of wandering and being lost in a world where the natural environment has a life of its own. The verse describes the car getting lost somewhere in the old time where the trees are black, and where the history has "dragged us down to our knees." The old time is a place of darkness where dreams have died, but there is still a sense of hope as the singer declares that he is not far behind the one he loves.
The second part of the song continues to explore the theme of the old time, where a child is born and where there is a sense of hallucination throughout the world. The singer talks about the sun being "always glorious at your head," using metaphor to describe the beauty of the one he loves. He also talks about staying at a motel with the one he loves and enjoying the old times with "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" on the radio. The verse is a beautiful portrayal of a romantic encounter between two lovers who are lost in the old time.
Line by Line Meaning
Wide black trees and a field of frost
The trees are black representing how history has dragged them down to their knees, and the field frozen. Their present surroundings establish the mood and the time
Birds fly low and you and me and the car are lost
While they observe the surroundings the birds take a flight and the couple and their car are in the same state of being lost and wandering
Took a wrong turn somewhere
The couple has made a mistake earlier which they are currently paying for
Into the old time
Their circumstances have led them into a situation which feels like a break from present time and like they have entered into olden times
Into the old time, for sure
Considering the gloomy surroundings, the couple is sure that they have entered olden times
By the side of the road is a thing with horns
A creature with horns is seen by the roadside
That steps back into the trees
The creature disappears into the trees
And a child is born
A child is born (probably as a metaphor for nature restarting and life pushing forward)
Upon this trembling earth
The earth shakes
Displays each day
Every day something beautiful is revealed before the couple
Thrown across the hallucination of your hair
The sun shines on her hair and it causes a bright glare creating an effect of hallucination for the singer
A strip of ordinary sun, a biblical sun
The sun is a common thing that happens every day, but because it is shining in the hair of the woman he loves, it feels like it is biblical, important, and extraordinary as well
A colonial sun, an enlightened sun
He also references the sun in terms of different historical periods, like how it illuminated colonial America and during the Enlightenment period
The same sun
Even though the sun has different meanings throughout history, it is still the same sun
Made always glorious at your head
Her hair is making the sun look beautiful
Well, we stop in at a motel and go jumping into bed
The couple stops at a motel and jumps into the bed like they used to do in olden times
Just like the old times
They are recreating the moments from the past and reliving them again
Yeah, wherever you are, darling, I'm not that far behind
The couple is together, wherever the woman goes, the man will follow, thus he is not far behind
With a lunatic beauty under a watery moon
The beauty of the woman is absolute, with her standing below the moon filled night sky
You're melting by the motel swimming pool
The woman is melting by the swimming pool and enjoying the present moment
'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' on the radio
The song 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' is being played on the radio
Her moon to my shooting star
The moon is compared with the woman, while the man is compared with a shooting star, which is made to sound like he is more transient
And I'm throwing my bags in the back of the car
They pack and get ready to move on
Just like the old times
They repeat their behavior from the past
Just like old times, baby
They are recreating their past actions
And I'm not coming back this time
This time the man is not coming back, unlike the previous times
Ah, like the old days, darling
He yearns for the old days when they were together always
Like old days, I'm not coming back this time
He claims again that this time he will not come back and recreate their past times
Ah, like the old days, darling
He repeats that he misses the past
Like old days, I'm not coming back this time
He repeats once again that he will not be coming back this time, as their relationship seems to have broken beyond repair
Like the old time
The song concludes the way it started, referencing the old times from the past
Wherever you are, darling
The man still wonders wherever she is
I'm not that far behind
He claims that he will follow her wherever she goes and thus he is not far behind
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Nicholas Cave, Warren Ellis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mazharidavid6252
Mr Nick Cave (a poem dedicated to)
Awakened
from the oddest
dream
(
Mr Cave's golden award
boots
troubling a Christmas' eve
where I had felt
the weight of
my stringiness and guilt
)
I was thinking of
Mister Nick Cave
— his dark glaze
and long hair,
his blue-raven suit
and angel-white shirt
I was thinking of
what he had been
generously
granted with
Talent
Fame
and
Love
— fans & women
GRACE
and
FAITH
I was thinking of
Mister Cave
and through my head
came a remnant
of John's Gospel :
"A man can receive nothing
unless it is given him
from heaven"...
Darkness was slowly fading
and a true light
was about to shine
and lying in my bed
I felt compassion for
the poet
and
singer
thinking how Lord
in His Good Unfathomable Will
tested Mister Cave's
Love
Grace
and
Faith
through the loss
of his own
flesh
and blood
the mourning of his child...
and I actually woke up
to such thought
filled with
Love
and
Compassion
and in the middle of
so many humble thoughts
and grief
I took off my clothes
and enfolded myself in
solitude
where darkness was
fading
and a true light was already
shining...
David Mazhari (copyright)
@user-rr4qd9ty9i
Невозможно вернуть
Старые времена:
Угасает ассоциированная
Звезда
- С головой утопает судьба
В безграничной глади песка.
Начинай сначала:
Не обременяясь,
Развернись слегка,
Ведь в твоих руках карт колода
- Собирай нектар цветов
И жди в дар плода.
Мне же остаётся быть в пустыне:
Уже на солёной поверхности
Редкая фауна стынет,
Прогрессирует эрозия
На пригорке
И весна давно прошла
- На пути к моей воронке
Не осталось и следа
@leslieschmidt4744
Nick sounds better then ever. I love you, Nick!
@markukeley2924
Epic, ephemeral, evocative--Nick and Warren!
@eternaldoorman5228
This has an almost The Good Son vibe!!!
@ireneclaro5538
♥♥♥... Love.... Love..... Nick Cave and Warren..... Poetry and music .... Blessings ... ✨✨✨
@DeeHughes
His voice always gives me chills 💕💕
@raulpineda1821
No one does it better than Cave and gang. 45 years of amazing music.
@PrimitiveInTheExtreme
Nocturnal and dark rhythm.
@user-rc9nl9hb7e
Люблю твоё творчество, Ник. Слушая твою музыку, всегда есть о чем поразмыслить.
@SBlackmare
Спасибо, Николас ❣️ 🖤
@mazharidavid6252
Mr Nick Cave (a poem dedicated to)
Awakened
from the oddest
dream
(
Mr Cave's golden award
boots
troubling a Christmas' eve
where I had felt
the weight of
my stringiness and guilt
)
I was thinking of
Mister Nick Cave
— his dark glaze
and long hair,
his blue-raven suit
and angel-white shirt
I was thinking of
what he had been
generously
granted with
Talent
Fame
and
Love
— fans & women
GRACE
and
FAITH
I was thinking of
Mister Cave
and through my head
came a remnant
of John's Gospel :
"A man can receive nothing
unless it is given him
from heaven"...
Darkness was slowly fading
and a true light
was about to shine
and lying in my bed
I felt compassion for
the poet
and
singer
thinking how Lord
in His Good Unfathomable Will
tested Mister Cave's
Love
Grace
and
Faith
through the loss
of his own
flesh
and blood
the mourning of his child...
and I actually woke up
to such thought
filled with
Love
and
Compassion
and in the middle of
so many humble thoughts
and grief
I took off my clothes
and enfolded myself in
solitude
where darkness was
fading
and a true light was already
shining...
David Mazhari (copyright)