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.
Suzanne
Nick Cave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To her place near the river
You can see the boats go by
And you can spend the night forever
And you know she's half crazy
And that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
She gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And Jesus was a sailor
When He walked upon the water
And He spent a long time watching
From a lonely wooden tower
Yes, and when He knew for certain
Only drowning men could see Him
He said, all men will be sailors then
Until the seas free them
But He, Himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken and almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with Him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
'Cause He's touched your perfect body with His mind
Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you besides the water
She is wearing rags, feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbor
She shows you where to look
Between the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
You want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you can trust her
'Cause she's touched your perfect body with her mind
Nick Cave's song "Suzanne" is a story about a woman named Suzanne who lives near a river and invites the singer to spend the night with her. The opening lines describe how Suzanne brings the singer down by the river and shows him the boats passing by. He enjoys being with Suzanne, knowing that she is a bit crazy, and she feeds him tea and oranges from China. Although the singer knows he cannot offer Suzanne love, she continues to hold him close, getting him on her wavelength so that the river can answer that he has always been her lover.
As the song progresses, the singer sings about Jesus, describing him as a sailor who spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower. When Jesus knew that only drowning men could see him, he said all men would be sailors until the seas freed them. However, Jesus himself was broken long before the sky opened, and he sank beneath the singer's wisdom like a stone. The song ends with Suzanne taking the singer's hand and leading him to the water. She is wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters, and the sun pours down like honey on the lady of the harbor. The singer finds that Suzanne shows him where to look between the garbage and the flowers, pointing out that there are heroes in the seaweed and children in the morning, all leaning out for love, while Suzanne holds the mirror.
The song is open to interpretation, but it is speculated that Suzanne could be a reference to Suzanne Verdal McCallister, who lived in Montreal at the same time as Cave and was associated with poets and musicians in the city. However, Cave has never confirmed this claim. "Suzanne" was originally written by Leonard Cohen, and this version of the song was a cover tribute, but the lyrics were slightly altered to fit Cave's interpretation. The song was released on Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' record "First Born is Dead" in 1985.
Line by Line Meaning
Suzanne takes you down
Suzanne brings you to her place near the river
To her place near the river
To the place where Suzanne lives, located close to the river
You can see the boats go by
You are able to see the boats pass by
And you can spend the night forever
You can stay the night for an indefinite amount of time
And you know she's half crazy
You acknowledge that Suzanne is mentally unstable in some capacity
And that's why you want to be there
You desire to be present in spite of or because of her instability
And she feeds you tea and oranges
Suzanne offers you tea and oranges to consume
That come all the way from China
The tea and oranges are imported from China
And just when you mean to tell her
At just the moment you mean to confess to her
That you have no love to give her
That you do not possess love to provide to her
She gets you on her wavelength
She emotionally connects with you
And she lets the river answer
She allows the river to give a response
That you've always been her lover
That you have been romantically involved with her from the start
And Jesus was a sailor
The historical figure of Jesus once traveled the seas
When He walked upon the water
He manifested a metaphorical act of walking on water
And He spent a long time watching
He observed for an extended duration of time
From a lonely wooden tower
From a tall and lonesome wooden structure
Yes, and when He knew for certain
And when He was certain beyond a doubt
Only drowning men could see Him
Only those struggling and in danger of drowning in the water could visually perceive him
He said, all men will be sailors then
He declared that all men will embark on a journey like sailors
Until the seas free them
Until they are liberated from the metaphorical waves that have bound them
But He, Himself was broken
But He, the Son of God, was shattered
Long before the sky would open
Long before the sky parted and the start of the apocalypse
Forsaken and almost human
Abandoned and displaying more human-like characteristics
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
He fell below your level of understanding like a heavy rock
And you want to travel with Him
You desire to journey alongside Jesus
And you want to travel blind
And you desire to embark on this spiritual journey without knowing its destination
And you think maybe you'll trust him
And you have faith that you will put your trust in Jesus
'Cause He's touched your perfect body with His mind
Because He has influenced your pure self with His thoughts
Suzanne takes your hand
Suzanne grasps your hand
And she leads you besides the water
And she guides you next to the water
She is wearing rags, feathers
She is clothed in tatters and bird plumes
From Salvation Army counters
From discount items purchased from Salvation Army stores
And the sun pours down like honey
The sunlight gushes down like honey
On our lady of the harbor
Shining on the symbol of the Statue of Liberty in the harbor
She shows you where to look
She points out where to focus your gaze
Between the garbage and the flowers
Located amidst both trash and natural vegetation
There are heroes in the seaweed
Hidden and unnoticed individuals within the strands of seaweed
There are children in the morning
There are kids out in the early overcast hours
They are leaning out for love
They are outward yearning for affection
And they will lean that way forever
And they will persist in that yearning for eternity
While Suzanne holds the mirror
While Suzanne reflects and focuses on herself
You want to travel with her
You desire to join Suzanne on a journey
And you want to travel blind
And you desire to go on this journey without prior knowledge of the destination
And you think maybe you can trust her
And you hope that you can confide in her
'Cause she's touched your perfect body with her mind
Because she has affected your unblemished self with her thoughts
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@keep_it_real26
The way he lags just slightly behind the girls is ecstatically beautiful
@minatonic3781
I simply adore this version of ''Suzanne''. Nick Cave's voice is so beautiful and full of devotion to each song he performs.
And this song is pure poetry, if you ask me, because each word demands to be felt more than heard or just read, and you need an artist to interpret, to understand and therefore to bring it to the audience in a right way.
@verabroskevic9273
❤❤❤❤
@familygirlxx
I'm stunned by some of the comments here. I LOVE Cohen's version of Suzanne. I remember the first time I heard Cohen, and I fell in love with this song in particular. Singing this Nick isn't trying to compete with Cohen, and I would be almost 100% sure he didn't forget the words, he simply sang it his way, which I happen to think made it very beautiful. It was done as a tribute to a singer Nick has obviously admired for a long time. So why bitch and compare? Just enjoy.
@klaussieber3262
Es sind beide Versionen einfach toll.
@bjrnarbrathen1563
Nick has this rare ability to form his voice into different styles. I love his music and his voice.
@ennbee2051
Nicholas. Have, at least, some respect.
@user-mh8fz2rg7d
Υπέροχο
@IlGattonero13
The treatment of the background vocals is unexpected and haunting — as though the echo anticipates the lead voice, or as though he’s being accompanied by the spirits of the water.
The trick to the art of covering other people’s songs is to make them your own while honoring the vision of the original artist. Nick does that here beautifully.
@roachstj1
Nick sings this song like he's in prayer in the church of Leonard Cohen.