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.
Mermaids
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were a match
I was the match that would fire up her snatch
There was a catch
I was no match
I was fired from her crotch
I sit around and watch
The mermaids sun themselves out on the rocks
I watch and watch
Wave at me
They wave at me
They wave and slip
Back into the sea
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the sea
I believe in God
I believe in mermaids too
I believe in 72 virgins on a chain (why not, why not)
I believe in the Rapture
For I've seen your face
On the floor of the ocean
At the bottom of the rain
I do driver alertness course
I do husband alertness course
I do mermaid alertness course
Watch them out on the rocks
Wave at me
They wave at me
They wave and slip
Back into the sea
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the sea
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
And all the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the sea
The lyrics for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds's song "Mermaids" refers to the singer's fascination with mermaids and their untouchable nature. The opening lines reference a sexual encounter, where the singer was not able to satisfy his partner. He then shifts focus to observing mermaids as they sun themselves on rocks but remain out of reach. The chorus mentions those who come and go to the water, possibly suggesting the transient nature of life and people's interactions with the world around them.
The singer's belief in both God and mermaids may suggest a search for spirituality and the unknown or mystical. The mention of 72 virgins on a chain and the Rapture, both concepts from religious belief, contrast with the idea of mermaids and create an interesting paradox.
The final verse includes the singer's involvement in various alertness courses, including a mermaid alertness course, suggesting a search for understanding or connection with the unknown. The repeated refrain, "Wave at me, they wave at me, they wave and slip back into the sea," emphasizes the distance and separation between the singer and the mermaids, while also representing the fleeting nature of life and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
She was a catch
She was an attractive woman
We were a match
We were well-suited as a couple
I was the match that would fire up her snatch
I was the man that would sexually arouse her
There was a catch
There was a problem
I was no match
I was not good enough for her
I was fired from her crotch
She rejected me sexually
I sit around and watch
I spend time observing things
The mermaids sun themselves out on the rocks
There are imaginary creatures basking in the sunlight
They are beyond our touch
We can't interact with them
They wave at me
They gesture towards me
They wave and slip
They gesture and then disappear
Back into the sea
They return to their mythical environment
And all the ones who come
All the people who visit
And all the ones who go
All the people who leave
Down to the water
Towards the source of the mermaids
Down to the sea
Towards the mythical environment of the mermaids
I believe in God
I have faith in a higher power
I believe in mermaids too
I have faith in mythical creatures
I believe in 72 virgins on a chain (why not, why not)
I believe in an extravagant afterlife reward
I believe in the Rapture
I believe in a biblical prophecy
For I've seen your face
Because I've encountered something similar
On the floor of the ocean
In a location that's difficult to reach
At the bottom of the rain
In a gloomy atmosphere
I do driver alertness course
I take a driving safety class
I do husband alertness course
I take a marriage strengthening class
I do mermaid alertness course
I prepare for an unlikely event
Watch them out on the rocks
Observe the mythical creatures basking in the sunlight
And all the ones who come
Everyone who visits
And all the ones who go
Everyone who leaves
Down to the water
Towards the source of the mermaids
Down to the sea
Towards the mythical environment of the mermaids
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Mute Song Limited
Written by: Nicholas Edward Cave, Warren Ellis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@portokalimarida
She was a catch
We were a match
I was the match
That would fire up her snatch
But there was a catch
I was no match
I was fired from her crotch
Now I sit around and watch
The mermaids sun themselves
Out on the rocks
They are beyond our touch
I watch and watch
Them wave at me
They wave at me
They wave and slip
Back into the sea
All the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
All the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the sea
I believe in God
I believe in mermaids too
I believe in seventy two virgins
On a chain why not why not
I believe in the rapture
For I've seen your face
On the floor of the ocean
At the bottom of the rain
I do driver alertness course
I do husband alertness course
I do mermaid alertness course
I watch them out on the rocks
They wave at me
They wave at me
They wave and slip
Back into the sea
All the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
All the ones who come
And the ones who go
Down to the sea
All the ones who come
And all the ones who go
Down to the water
All the ones who come
And the ones who go
Down to the sea
@user-vl1ox4gy4r
Мне почти пятьдесят лет, а я до сих пор чувствую себя тем глупым подростком, каким была, когда полюбила музыку Ника. Когда его слушаю, сердце заходится от восторга...
@user-gr3he9td3y
Это очень мощно! Моим родителям столько же, сколько вам, но они не разделяют моей любви к Кейву. Говорят, слишком мрачный) А я тоже когда-то его песни полюбила, будучи подростком. Забавно - именно у отца нашла запись muder ballads, а он даже не помнит, что она у него была.
Приятно знать, что люди сквозь столько лет проносят любовь к такой прекрасной музыке. 💔❤️🔥Ещё и в знакомой тебе языковой среде.
@jasminehammond9015
How can someone write for thirty years and still be this incredible
@truefunksoul8638
40+ years when you wrote that comment .. 35 years when Nick wrote this song.
@esteras114
virgo slay
@toperic02
Only Nick can sing about snatches with a children's' choir in the background.
@skiw7720
Count Grassi They look like they're on their early/mid teens to me.
@MephProduction
think it means something different in Australia.
@belindacorbett5423
It means the same thing in Australia
@francoisechannaux242
Écouter France Inter en direct