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.
Shivers
Nick Cave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it really doesn't suit my style,
So I think I'll just act bored instead
Who can take (alt: and contain) the blood I would've shed?
She makes me feel so ugly (alt: so weary) (alt: so ill at ease)
My heart is really on it's knees
But I keep a poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
She is almost a mirror
And the sound of her name
Sends a permanent shiver down my
Spine
I keep her photograph against my heart
For in my life she plays a starring part
All alcohol and cigarettes
There is no room for cheap regrets
But my baby's so vain
She is almost a mirror
And the sound of her name
Sends a permanent shiver down my
Spine
She makes me feel so ugly
My heart is really on it's knees
But I keep a poker face so well
That even mother couldn't tell
But my baby's so vain
She is almost a mirror
And the sound of her name
Sends a perennial shiver down my
Spiii-yi-yiiii-yi-yiiii-yi-yiyiyi-ine
The lyrics to Nick Cave's song "Shivers" convey a sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer is contemplating suicide but decides it's not the right fit for him. Instead, he chooses to act bored as a way of coping. He has a lover who makes him feel terrible about himself, but he keeps up a facade of strength so well that even his own mother can't see through it. The lover is so vain that she's almost like a mirror, and even just hearing her name sends a permanent shiver down his spine.
The first verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of it. The singer's thoughts are bleak, but he's not quite ready to give up yet. He knows that he can't continue feeling this way, so he decides to try something new. However, it's clear that he's not expecting much from this change in behavior.
The second verse focuses on the singer's lover. She is the source of his pain, and yet he can't seem to let her go. He keeps her photograph close to his heart, even though he knows it's destroying him. The final line of the verse, "There is no room for cheap regrets," suggests that the singer knows he's making a mistake but can't bring himself to do anything differently.
Overall, "Shivers" is a haunting and melancholy song that captures the pain of unrequited love and the struggle to keep going when everything seems hopeless.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been contemplating suicide
I've been thinking about giving up on life
But it really doesn't suit my style
But ending my life doesn't fit with who I am
So I think I'll just act bored instead
So I'll pretend to be uninterested in life
Who can take (alt: and contain) the blood I would've shed?
Who would have to deal with the mess if I end my life?
She makes me feel so ugly (alt: so weary) (alt: so ill at ease)
She makes me feel unattractive, tired, and uncomfortable
My heart is really on it's knees
My emotions are in a vulnerable state
But I keep a poker face so well
But I don't show my true feelings
That even mother couldn't tell
That I'm so good at hiding my emotions, my own mother can't see how I really feel
But my baby's so vain
But the person I care about is obsessed with their own appearance
She is almost a mirror
She reflects my own insecurities back at me
And the sound of her name
And just hearing her name
Sends a permanent shiver down my Spine
Makes me feel uneasy and nervous all the time
I keep her photograph against my heart
I treasure a picture of her close to me
For in my life she plays a starring part
She is a big part of my life
All alcohol and cigarettes
I use vices like drinking and smoking to cope
There is no room for cheap regrets
I try not to dwell on mistakes or bad decisions
Sends a perennial shiver down my Spiii-yi-yiiii-yi-yiiii-yi-yiyi-ine
Continues to make me feel uneasy over time
Lyrics © Mute Song Limited
Written by: Rowland Howard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andrewknight4999
Great song. Great singer. I bought the single and still have it.
Big question is how on earth did that other band that later did the cover version stuff up the lyrics so badly?! And misread the theme of the song? This still sends a "familiar shiver" down my spine!
And, although it still does make me feel a little weary, it doesn't make me feel quite as "ill-at-ease" as the subject and theme of the song.
But still it irks that the online lyrics display the misheard goofs of the sloppy provincial cover-band.
'Scuse me while I kiss this guy".
AK
@thereal_kpatz
I was 12 and loved it
@adamwright4135
One of those very rare perfect pop songs ... up there with Bowie's Heroes really
@AlexPortnoy
Filmed by Melbourne University (Australia) film studies students in 1979, as their Final year project.
@j.c7719
Beautiful. Just beautiful.
@PUPPETEERdotBANDCAMP
Written by one of rock's greatest all-time guitar players, Rowland S. Howard. I would recommend you listen to other works of his, The Birthday Party of course, but also These Immortal Souls, and much more.
@sophdog1678
First time I saw The Birthday Party, they walked through us, the audience, up onto the stage. Tracy Pew was wearing a Stetson hat, cowboy boots with spurs(!) and a string vest top over black jeans, and I thought, okay, here we go.
@gmansi
🤣
@dolphinberserk
Nick Cave must have been born with that strut and presence.
@graemewillie2138
The man,and what a band of musicians,
@LordNimonYT
Wow. I haven't heard this in decades.