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.
Hold on to Yourself
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
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Pacing up and down my room
Does Jesus only love a man who loses?
I turn on the radio
There's some cat on the saxophone
Laying down a litany of excuses
There's madhouse longing in my baby's eyes
She rubs the lamp between her thighs
She lives in some forgotten song
And moves like she is zombie-strong
Breathes steady as the pendulum keeps swinging
You better hold on to yourself
Well, cities rust and fall to ruin
Factories close and cars go cruisin'
In around the borders of her vision
She says ooh, ooh, ooh
As Jesus makes the flowers grow
All around the scene of her collision
You know I would, yes, I would
I would hold on to yourself
In the middle of the night
I try my best to chase outside
The phantoms and the ghosts and fairy-girls
On a thousand and one nights like these
She mutters open sesame and Ali Baba and his forty thieves
Launch her off the face of the world
You know one day I'll come back and I'd hold on to yourself
To yourself, I'd hold on to yourself
Ooh baby, I'm a thousand miles away
And I just don't know what to say
'Cause Jesus only loves a man who bruises
But darling, we can clearly see
It's all life and fire and lunacy
And excuses and excuses and excuses
Well, you know if I could, I would
Yeah I'd lie right down and I'd hold on to yourself
Yeah, I would lie right down and I would hold on to yourself
One day I'll come back to you and I'd hold on to yourself
Yeah, I'm gonna come back, gonna lie down
And I'll hold on to yourself
Yeah, to yourself
To yourself
The lyrics to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds's song Hold On To Yourself describe the feeling of longing and distance between two people. The singer is far away from their loved one and trying to hold on to their connection. The line "Does Jesus only love a man who loses?" suggests a feeling of inadequacy and insecurity in the relationship, as if the singer is questioning whether their worthiness for love. The saxophone playing in the background adds to the sense of despair and loneliness.
The second half of the song moves towards a more hopeful tone, with the mention of Jesus making the flowers grow and the promise to come back to the loved one and hold on to themselves. The reference to "a thousand and one nights" and "Ali Baba and his forty thieves" adds to the feeling of an adventure and journey towards reuniting with the loved one. Overall, the lyrics suggest a complex mix of emotions and a deep longing for connection.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm so far away from you
I feel distant and separated from you
Pacing up and down my room
I'm anxiously moving around in my room
Does Jesus only love a man who loses?
I question whether God only loves those who suffer and lose
I turn on the radio
I switch on the radio
There's some cat on the saxophone
Someone is playing saxophone on the radio
Laying down a litany of excuses
Playing a series of excuses as if they're music
There's madhouse longing in my baby's eyes
My lover is filled with intense desire and desperation
She rubs the lamp between her thighs
She touches herself to summon a genie
And hopes the genie comes out, singing
She wishes for the genie to appear and grant her a wish
She lives in some forgotten song
My lover lives in a world of her own imagination
And moves like she is zombie-strong
She moves with a determined, unstoppable force
Breathes steady as the pendulum keeps swinging
She stays calm and steady even as time passes
You better hold on to yourself
You need to stay grounded and not lose sight of who you are
Well, cities rust and fall to ruin
Cities decay and collapse
Factories close and cars go cruisin'
Industries shut down and people go for leisurely drives
In around the borders of her vision
On the edge of my lover's perception
She says ooh, ooh, ooh
She makes a sound of awe and wonder
As Jesus makes the flowers grow
My lover believes in divine intervention and miracles
All around the scene of her collision
All around the place where she's struggling and suffering
You know I would, yes, I would
I would hold on to myself
In the middle of the night
At night, when it's dark and quiet
I try my best to chase outside
I make an effort to escape from my thoughts and fears
The phantoms and the ghosts and fairy-girls
The fears, illusions, and unrealistic expectations in my mind
On a thousand and one nights like these
On many similar nights in the past
She mutters open sesame and Ali Baba and his forty thieves
My lover recites magic words from a fairy tale
Launch her off the face of the world
To escape reality and enter a fantasy world
Ooh baby, I'm a thousand miles away
I'm far away from you
And I just don't know what to say
I don't know how to express myself
'Cause Jesus only loves a man who bruises
I feel like God only loves those who suffer and hurt
But darling, we can clearly see
But my love, we can understand
It's all life and fire and lunacy
It's all chaotic and intense like a burning fire
And excuses and excuses and excuses
And full of justifications and reasons why things are the way they are
Well, you know if I could, I would
If I could, I would hold on to myself
Yeah I'd lie right down and I'd hold on to yourself
I would rest and stay focused on myself
One day I'll come back to you and I'd hold on to yourself
I'll return to you and stay true to myself
Yeah, I'm gonna come back, gonna lie down
I intend to return and rest
And I'll hold on to yourself
And I'll stay focused on myself
Yeah, to yourself
Yes, to stay grounded and not lose myself
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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