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.
Sad Waters
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
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Hair of gold and lips like cherries
We go down to the river where the willows weep
Take a naked root for a lovers seat
That rose out of the bitten soil
But bound to the ground by creeping ivy coils
Oh Mary you have seduced my soul
Forever a hostage of your child's world
And then I ran my tin-cup heart along
The prison of her ribs
And then with a toss of her curls
That little girl goes wading in
Rolling her dress up past her knee
Turning these waters into wine
Then she platted all the willow vines
Mary in the shallows laughing
Over where the carp dart
Spooked by the new shadows that she cast
Across these sad waters and across my heart
The lyrics to "Sad Waters" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds can be interpreted in several ways, but at the heart of the song is a deep sense of longing and desire. The singer of the song is looking down the road and sees Mary, a woman with hair of gold and lips like cherries. Together, they go down to the river where they sit on a naked root as a lover's seat. The root symbolizes the raw, primal essence of their love, while the willows represent the sadness and tears that come with it. The creeping ivy coils around the root, representing the way their love is bound and trapped in the earth.
As the song continues, the singer becomes more and more enamored with Mary. He sees her as a seductress who has entranced his soul, making him a hostage in her child's world. He runs his "tin-cup heart" along the prison of her ribs, showing how he is imprisoned and yet captivated by Mary's beauty. Mary, for her part, is carefree and joyful, plaiting the willow vines while turning the water into wine. This image is both mystical and spiritual, invoking the miracles of Jesus Christ, who turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana.
As the song ends, Mary is seen in the shallows, laughing and splashing around. The carp dart and are spooked by the shadows that she casts on the water. The sad waters become a metaphor for the singer's heart, which is also cast in shadow by Mary's presence. The song is a powerful reminder of the way love can both bind us and set us free, and how it can be both beautiful and sad at the same time.
Line by Line Meaning
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
I see Mary running down the road
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
Mary has blonde hair and red lips
We go down to the river where the willows weep
We head to the river where the willow trees are crying
Take a naked root for a lovers seat
We sit on a bare and intimate spot by the river
That rose out of the bitten soil
The place where we sit grew out of damaged earth
But bound to the ground by creeping ivy coils
The ground is tied down by ivy that is slowly growing
Oh Mary you have seduced my soul
Mary has captivated my spirit
Forever a hostage of your child's world
I am forever trapped in the world that Mary creates
And then I ran my tin-cup heart along
I put my heart, which is fragile, on the line
The prison of her ribs
Her body, which traps and controls me
And then with a toss of her curls
Mary playfully throws her hair back
That little girl goes wading in
She steps into the water and starts to splash around
Rolling her dress up past her knee
Mary lifts her dress up to her knee as she plays in the water
Turning these waters into wine
She makes these waters seem magical
Then she platted all the willow vines
She weaves together the willow tree branches
Mary in the shallows laughing
Mary is in the shallow part of the river, laughing
Over where the carp dart
Mary is near where the carp fish swim around quickly
Spooked by the new shadows that she cast
Mary's movements create new shadows that scare the fish
Across these sad waters and across my heart
The shadows are cast over both the water and my heart, which is full of pain and sadness
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nicholas Cave
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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