The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Toby Dammit (United States) and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). The band has released sixteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours, and has been considered "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward".
The band was founded in 1983 following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former group the Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school in Victoria. By the release of their fifth studio album Tender Prey in 1988, they shifted from post-punk towards an experimental alternative rock sound, later incorporating various influences throughout their career. For example, the 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and the side-project Grinderman were strongly influenced by garage rock. Synthesizers and minimal guitar work feature prominently on Push the Sky Away (2013), recorded after Harvey's departure from the band in 2009.
The project that would later evolve into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds began following the demise of The Birthday Party in August 1983. Both Cave and Harvey were members of the Birthday Party, along with guitarist Rowland S. Howard and bassist Tracy Pew. During the recording sessions of the Birthday Party's scheduled EPs Mutiny/The Bad Seed, internal disputes developed in the band. The difference in Cave and Howard's approach to songwriting was a major factor, as Cave explained in an interview with On The Street: "the main reason why The Birthday Party broke up was that the sort of songs that I was writing and the sort of songs that Rowland was writing were just totally at odds with each other." Following the departure of Harvey, they officially disbanded. Cave also said that "it probably would have gone on longer, but Mick has the ability to judge things much more clearly than the rest of us."[8]
Cave and guitarist Kid Congo Powers during the band's 1986 tour.
An embryonic version of what would later become Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was formed in the Birthday Party's then-home of London in September 1983, with Cave, Harvey (acting primarily as drummer), Einstürzende Neubauten guitarist Bargeld, Magazine bassist Barry Adamson, and Jim G. Thirlwell. The band was initially formed as a backing band for Cave's intended solo project Man Or Myth?, which had been approved by the record label Mute Records. During September and October 1983, they recorded material with producer Flood,[9] although the sessions were cut short due to Cave's touring with the Immaculate Consumptive, another project formed with Thirlwell, Lydia Lunch and Marc Almond.[10] In December 1983 Cave returned to Melbourne, Australia, where he formed a temporary line-up of his backing band, due to Bargeld's absence, that included Pew and guitarist Hugo Race. The band performed their first live show at Seaview in St. Kilda on 31 December 1983.
Following a short Australian tour, and during a period when they were without management, Cave and his band returned to London. Cave, Harvey, Bargeld, Race and Adamson formed the project's first consistent line-up, while Cave's longtime girlfriend Anita Lane was credited as a lyricist on the band's debut album.[citation needed] The group, which up to this time had been nameless, adopted the moniker Nick Cave and the Cavemen, which they used for the first six months of their career. However, they were later renamed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in May 1984, in reference to the final Birthday Party EP The Bad Seed.[citation needed] They began recording sessions for their debut album in March 1984 at London's Trident Studios and these sessions, together with the abandoned Man Or Myth? sessions from September–October 1983 that were recorded at The Garden studios, formed the album From Her to Eternity, released on Mute Records in 1984.
Babe You Turn Me On
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You are the one, my only true love
The butcherbird makes its noise
And it asks you to agree
With its brutal nesting habits
And its pointless savagery
Now, the nightingale sings to you
And it raises up the ante
And the other down your panties
Everything is falling, dear
Everything is wrong
It's just history repeating itself
And babe, you turn me on
Like a light bulb, babe
Like a song
Well you race naked through the wilderness
And you torment the birds and the bees
You leapt into the abyss, but find
It only goes up to your knees
I move stealthily from tree to tree
And I shadow you for hours
I make like I'm a little deer
Grazing on the flowers
Everything is collapsing, dear
All moral sense has gone
It's just history repeating itself
And babe, you turn me on
Like an idea, babe
Like an atom bomb
We stand awed inside a clearing
We do not make a sound
The crimson snow falls all about
Carpeting the ground
Everything is falling, dear
All rhyme and reason gone
It's just history repeating itself
And, babe, you turn me on
Like an idea, babe
Like an atom bomb
The song "Babe You Turn Me On" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a love song with dark, ominous overtones. At first, the lyrics seem innocent enough, with the singer expressing his love for his partner and describing the sounds of the butcherbird and nightingale. However, the lyrics soon take a turn for the sinister, with references to brutality, savagery, and moral collapse. The singer also describes shadowing his partner like a predator and grazing on the flowers like a little deer. The chorus, "Everything is falling, dear, everything is wrong, it's just history repeating itself and babe, you turn me on," suggests a sense of impending doom and a desire to be with his partner even in the face of destruction. The final verse describes a mystical, almost apocalyptic scene of a clearing covered in crimson snow.
While the meaning of the song is open to interpretation, it seems to be about the power of love in the face of chaos and destruction. The singer is aware of the darkness in the world but is also drawn to the beauty and passion of his partner. The references to animals and nature suggest a primal, instinctive connection between the two lovers, while the ominous tone suggests that their love might be the only thing holding them together in a world that is falling apart.
Line by Line Meaning
Stay by me, stay by me
I need your company, your love and your support. Stay with me.
You are the one, my only true love
In you, I have found my true love and my soulmate. You are the one for me.
The butcherbird makes its noise
The butcherbird is a ruthless predator and it is making its presence known with its loud cries.
And it asks you to agree
The butcherbird is demanding your attention and it wants you to acknowledge its existence.
With its brutal nesting habits
The butcherbird has a violent and savage way of building its nest.
And its pointless savagery
The butcherbird's actions may seem cruel and unnecessary, but it is simply following its instincts.
Now, the nightingale sings to you
The nightingale is serenading you with its beautiful song.
And it raises up the ante
The nightingale's song intensifies the mood and increases the tension.
I put one hand on your round ripe heart
I am touching your heart, which is full of love and passion for me.
And the other down your panties
I am caressing your body intimately, arousing your desire for me.
Everything is falling, dear
The world is in chaos and everything seems to be going wrong.
Everything is wrong
Nothing seems to be going right and the situation is getting worse.
It's just history repeating itself
These troubles and problems are not new, they have happened before and will happen again.
And babe, you turn me on
Despite the chaos and confusion, you still have the power to arouse my passion and desire for you.
Like a light bulb, babe
The effect you have on me is like turning on a light switch - sudden and intense.
Like a song
The way you make me feel is like hearing a beautiful and mesmerizing song that touches my soul.
Well you race naked through the wilderness
You are wild and free, running naked and unashamed through the untamed wilderness of life.
And you torment the birds and the bees
You are so irresistible and seductive that even the animals are drawn to you and can't resist your allure.
You leapt into the abyss, but find
You have taken a leap of faith and plunged into the unknown, but are finding that the journey is not as scary as you thought.
It only goes up to your knees
Despite your fears, you are finding that the challenges you face are not as deep or insurmountable as they seemed.
I move stealthily from tree to tree
I am following you quietly and discreetly, watching your every move.
And I shadow you for hours
I am so captivated by you that I can't help but follow you for hours on end.
I make like I'm a little deer
I am trying to blend in with my surroundings, like a small and innocent deer.
Grazing on the flowers
I am enjoying the simplicity and beauty of nature, just like a deer grazing on the flowers.
All moral sense has gone
The world has lost its sense of morality and ethics, and people have become selfish and cruel.
All rhyme and reason gone
There is no order or logic to the chaos and destruction happening around us.
Like an idea, babe
The thought of you and the passion we share is like a powerful and inspiring idea.
Like an atom bomb
Our love and connection can explode like an atomic bomb, leaving us both breathless and exhilarated.
We stand awed inside a clearing
We are standing in the midst of an open space, feeling small and insignificant in the face of the vastness of the universe.
We do not make a sound
We are both speechless, unable to express the awe and wonder we feel at this moment.
The crimson snow falls all about
The snow is turning red with the bloodshed of war and violence that surrounds us.
Carpeting the ground
The snow is covering everything in a thick, red carpet of death and destruction.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nicholas Cave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind