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.
Oh My Lord
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a mistake I sometimes make
My kids lay asleep in bed
My wife lay wide-awake
I kissed her softly on the brow
I tried not to make a sound
But with stony eyes she looked at me
And gently squeezed my hand
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
The sword of Damocles hanging directly above her
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms around me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
They called at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
Kept saying that I was not
The man I used to be
They held their babes aloft
Threw marshmallows at the security
And said that I'd grown soft
Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion,
But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
For even I could see in the way they stared at me
The spear of destiny sticking right through me
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
Now I'm at the hairdressers
People watch me as they move past
A guy wearing plastic antlers
Presses his bum against the glass
Now I'm down on my hands and knees
And it's so fucking hot!
Someone cries, "What are you looking for?"
I scream, "The plot, the plot!"
I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home
She screams, "Leave us alone!" I say, "Hey, it's only me"
The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror
I look back and shiver, I can't even believe what I can see
Be mindful of the prayers you send
Pray hard but pray with care
For the tears that you are crying now
Are just your answered prayers
The ladders of life that we scale merrily
Move mysteriously around
So that when you think you're climbing up, man
In fact you're climbing down
Into the hollows of glamour, where with spike and hammer
With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw
Oh I hate them, ma!
Oh I hate them, pa!
Oh I hate them all for what they went and done to you
Oh lord, oh my lord
Oh lord
How have I offended thee?
Wrap your tender arms 'round me
Oh lord, oh lord
Oh my lord
The song Oh My Lord by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a powerful narrative of self-realization and introspection. The verses are filled with vivid and dark imagery that portrays the struggle of the singer in coming to terms with his own inadequacies and failures, and the way that these failures seem to be mirrored in the lives of those around him. The song portrays a sense of bewilderment and helplessness that is contrasted with moments of clarity and self-discovery.
The first verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of the narrative, describing a scene of domestic tranquility that is marred by an ominous premonition. The singer kisses his wife softly on the brow but is met with a stony gaze that seems to suggest that something is amiss. The second verse jumps abruptly to a scene of chaos outside of the singer's home. People are shouting at him through the fence, accusing him of having lost his way, and calling him a failure. The final verse portrays the singer in a state of despair, lost and confused, desperately searching for meaning and struggling to come to terms with the negative effects of his life on those around him.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought I'd take a walk today
I had planned to take a walk today
It's a mistake I sometimes make
I sometimes make a mistake of taking walks
My kids lay asleep in bed
My children were sleeping in their bed
My wife lay wide-awake
My wife was awake and lying in bed
I kissed her softly on the brow
I gave her a soft kiss on her forehead
I tried not to make a sound
I tried to keep it quiet
But with stony eyes she looked at me
She looked at me with serious eyes
And gently squeezed my hand
She gently squeezed my hand
Call it a premonition, call it a crazy vision
It could be called a premonition, or a crazy vision
Call it intuition, something learned from mother
It could also be called intuition, something learned from my mother
But when she looked up at me, I could clearly see
When she looked at me, I could see
The sword of Damocles hanging directly above her
There was a sense of danger or threat hanging over my wife
Oh lord, oh my lord
Expressing a plea for help or guidance from a higher power
How have I offended thee?
Asking why there is trouble or difficulty in life
Wrap your tender arms around me
Asking for comfort or support from a higher power
They called at me through the fence
They shouted at me through the fence
They were not making any sense
What they were saying didn't make sense
They claimed that I had lost the plot
They claimed that I had lost my way
Kept saying that I was not
Repeatedly denying my identity or character
The man I used to be
The person I used to be
They held their babes aloft
They held their babies up
Threw marshmallows at the security
They threw marshmallows at the security personnel
And said that I'd grown soft
They said that I had become weak or less determined
Call it intuition, call it a creeping suspicion,
It could also be called intuition, a creeping suspicion
But their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
Their words showed that they didn't know me well
For even I could see in the way they stared at me
I could see from their gaze
The spear of destiny sticking right through me
The feeling of being pierced with a sense of an inevitable fate
Now I'm at the hairdressers
Referring to the present situation of being at a hairdresser
People watch me as they move past
People look at me as they walk past
A guy wearing plastic antlers
A man wearing plastic antlers
Presses his bum against the glass
He puts his rear end on the glass
Now I'm down on my hands and knees
Referring to the current position of being on hands and knees
And it's so fucking hot!
It is extremely hot
Someone cries, 'What are you looking for?'
Somebody asks what I'm searching for
I scream, 'The plot, the plot!'
I shout that I'm looking for the plot
I grab my telephone, I call my wife at home
I take my phone and call my wife who is at home
She screams, 'Leave us alone!' I say, 'Hey, it's only me'
My wife yells at me to leave them alone, but I tell her it's just me
The hairdresser with his scissors, he holds up the mirror
The hairdresser holds a mirror up with his scissors
I look back and shiver, I can't even believe what I can see
I feel frightened looking at what I see
Be mindful of the prayers you send
Be thoughtful about the prayers you say
Pray hard but pray with care
Pray with effort, but be careful what you pray for
For the tears that you are crying now
The tears that are being shed at present
Are just your answered prayers
Are actually the fulfillment of your previous prayers
The ladders of life that we scale merrily
The ladders of life that we climb happily or without worry
Move mysteriously around
Move in a mysterious or unpredictable way
So that when you think you're climbing up, man
So that you might think you're progressing or achieving
In fact you're climbing down
But actually, you are losing progress or falling down
Into the hollows of glamour, where with spike and hammer
Into the darker, more dangerous parts of the glamorous world
With telescopic camera, they chose to turn the screw
Using advanced tools and manipulation to gain control or influence
Oh I hate them, ma!
Expressing hatred or disgust towards specific people
Oh I hate them, pa!
Expressing hatred or disgust towards specific people
Oh I hate them all for what they went and done to you
Feeling anger or hatred towards those who have caused harm or distress
Oh lord, oh my lord
Asking for guidance or help from a higher power
Oh lord
Continuing to ask for assistance
How have I offended thee?
Expressing confusion or distress about the troubles of life
Wrap your tender arms 'round me
Asking for comfort or protection from a higher power
Oh lord, oh lord
Continuing to plead for aid
Oh my lord
Addressing the higher power with respect and reverence
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nicholas Cave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind