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.
Muddy Water
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Muddy water taking back the land
The old-frame house, she can't take-a one more beating
Ain't no use to stay and make a stand
Well the morning light shows water in the valley
Daddy's grave just went below the line
Things to say, you just can't take 'em with ya
Won't be back to start all over
'Cause what I felt before is gone
Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water taking back my home
The road is gone, there's just one way to leave here
Turn my back on what I've left below
Shifting land, broken farms around me
Muddy water's changing all I know
It's hard to say just what I'm losing
Ain't never felt so all alone
Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water taking back my home
Won't be back to start all over
'Cause what I felt before is gone
Mary, take the child, the river's rising
Muddy water's changing all I know
Muddy water's changing all I know
Lord, this muddy water is taking back my home
In "Muddy Water," Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds paint a portrait of a natural disaster, using a flood as a metaphor for loss and the passage of time. The opening lines immediately set the scene, with Mary being instructed to grab the baby and flee as the river is rising and the muddy water is taking back the land. The imagery of the old-frame house being unable to withstand another beating adds to the sense of desperation and impending disaster.
The second verse takes on a more contemplative tone, with Daddy's grave being swallowed up by the flood and the realization that things left behind will be lost. The singer knows they won't be able to start over, because what they once felt is gone. The final verse brings everything full circle, with the singer acknowledging that everything they know is changing, and the muddy water is taking back their home.
Overall, "Muddy Water" is a powerful meditation on loss, change, and the transience of life. The choice of a flood as a metaphor is particularly potent, as it conjures up images of both destruction and renewal, and highlights the cyclical nature of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Mary, grab the baby, the river's rising
Mary, take the child and run. The rising water is a sign of impending danger.
Muddy water taking back the land
The murky water is sweeping away human settlements and reshaping the surrounding landscape.
The old-frame house, she can't take-a one more beating
The fragile old house cannot endure the pounding of the water and wind anymore.
Ain't no use to stay and make a stand
There's no point in resisting against the overwhelming force of nature. It's time to move on and leave the past behind.
Well the morning light shows water in the valley
The sunlight reveals a scene of destruction and inundation in the once peaceful valley.
Daddy's grave just went below the line
Even the resting place of the father has been submerged under the rising water, a poignant reminder of mortality and impermanence.
Things to say, you just can't take 'em with ya
No matter how heartfelt or meaningful the words are, they cannot be carried to safety in the face of natural disaster.
This flood will swallow all you've left behind
The flood will engulf everything that has been abandoned, including memories, possessions, and dreams.
Won't be back to start all over
There's no going back to rebuild or recover what has been lost. The damage is too great and irreversible.
'Cause what I felt before is gone
The emotions and attachments to the place and the past have been washed away by the muddy water, leaving only emptiness and longing.
Mary, take the child, the river's rising
The only priority now is the safety and survival of the child, who represents hope and continuity in the face of devastation.
The road is gone, there's just one way to leave here
The flood has severed the connection between the past and the future, and there's only a narrow path to a precarious escape.
Turn my back on what I've left below
The only choice is to move forward and abandon the familiar and the cherished, no matter how painful and regretful.
Shifting land, broken farms around me
The natural disaster has not only destroyed the homes and the lives of people, but also disrupted the ecological balance and the social fabric of the community.
Muddy water's changing all I know
The water is not just taking away the physical structures, but also erasing the memories, the traditions, and the way of life of the people.
It's hard to say just what I'm losing
The loss is not just a matter of material possessions, but also of identity, belonging, and purpose.
Ain't never felt so all alone
The sense of isolation and vulnerability is overwhelming, as everything that once provided comfort and security has been washed away.
Muddy water's changing all I know
The repeated line emphasizes the extent and the magnitude of the devastation, as well as the inevitability and the unpredictability of natural disasters.
Lord, this muddy water is taking back my home
The final line is a plaintive cry to a higher power or a universal force, acknowledging the futility and the transience of human existence and achievement.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Johnny Bundrick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pablo Lobo
Excelente letra
Stacey Friedrich
My first and my favourite ,,,,,,, this album taught me soooo much.
Kevin Bowden
sobering yet uplifting.
Higor Amorim
It’s a shame that this song isn’t in peaky blinders !
Karolina
Is there anybody except me who’s here because of mr Cave, not because of Riverdale?
northpalm
Karolina Indeed
Gabriel Rosa
Yep. Never heard of Riverdale (US TV series?) before
philhartmann
Currently I'm going through his whole discography. Already seeing a bit of a transformation here.
Sheila Brady
Nick Cave is amazing on many levels and I've been a huge fan for decades. I've had the pleasure of experiencing many of his live performances since 1990...totally mesmerizing! I didn't know Muddy Water was featured in the t.v. series Riverdale [I do not watch it], however, I'm happy if it introduced some people to Nick Cave, and I trust that those who are drawn to explore him further, will find it to be a very satisfying journey.
Serene Chaos UK
enlighten me, what's Riverdale ?!?