The band presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitarist George Vjestica (United Kingdom), keyboardist/percussionist Larry Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit (United States), and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). The band is said on Allmusic to be 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 & 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."
An embryonic version of what would later become Nick Cave & 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. Thirlwell left during the recording sessions for Eternity, citing creative disagreements and desires to work on his own solo material. Race, and touring guitarist Edward Clayton-Jones, left to form the Wreckery in Melbourne.
After the departure of Race and Lane, the remaining members moved to West Berlin, Germany in 1985 and released a second album The Firstborn Is Dead.
The band garnered an increased following due to a second 1986 album release, Your Funeral, My Trial, which coincided with Adamson's departure.
After a period of time in New York City, Cave relocated to São Paulo, Brazil, shortly after the final tour for Tender Prey and, after successfully finishing drug rehabilitation, began experimenting with piano-driven ballads. The result of this post-rehabilitation period was 1990's The Good Son.
In mid-1993, the group returned once more to London and recorded Let Love In.
In 1996 the band released Murder Ballads, their best-selling album to date.
The sound of The Boatman's Call, released in 1997, was a radical departure from the archetypal and violent narratives of the band's past releases.
After the release of the 2008 live album "Live at the Royal Albert Hall", Cave embarked on a brief hiatus.
Following Cave's hiatus the band oversaw the release of Original Seeds, a compilation of material from other artists that influenced the group.
The proper follow-up to The Boatman's Call was 2001's No More Shall We Part.
The band released Nocturama in 2003. The album marked a return to band-oriented and collaborative arrangements.
In 2004 the band released the acclaimed two-disc set Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus, with Bargeld replaced by the English actor, guitarist and organist James Johnston.
In 2005 the band released B-Sides & Rarities, a three-volume, 56-song collection of B-sides, rarities and compilation tracks released on Mute Records.
The band released their 14th studio album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! in 2008.
The band's 15th studio album, Push the Sky Away, was released in mid-February 2013.
The album "Ghosteen" was released in October 2019.
On 22 October 2021, the band released B-Sides & Rarities Part II; the sequel to their 2005 compilation B-Sides & Rarities.
Water's Edge
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Because they're always there at the edge of the water
They come from the capitol, these city girls go way down
Where the stones meet the sea
And all you young girls where do you hide
Down by the water, in the restless tide
And the local boys hide on the mound and watch Reaching for the speech and the word to be heard
And the boys grow hard, hard to be heard
Hard to be heard as they reach for the speech
And search for the word on the water's edge
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yea you grow old and you grow cold
They would come in their hordes, these city girls
With white strings flowing from their ears
As the local boys behind the mound
Think long and hard about the girls from the capitol
Who dance at the water's edge, shaking their asses
And all you young lovers where do you hide
Down by the water, in the restless tide
With a bible of tricks they do with their legs
The girls reach for the speech and the speech to be heard
To be hard, the local boys teem down the mound
And seize the girls from the capitol
Who shriek at the edge of the water
Shriek to speak, and reach for the speech
Reach for the speech to be heard
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yea you grow old and you grow cold
You grow old
Their legs wide to the world like bibles open
To be speared and taking their bodies apart like toys
They dismantle themselves by the water's edge
And reach for the speech and the wide, wide world
Ah, God knows our local boys
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah but the chill of love is coming down, people
The lyrics to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds's song Water's Edge are filled with depth and meaning. The song seems to capture the many complexities of the human experience, including love, lust, power dynamics, and transitions between youth and old age. The first verse speaks of city girls who come to the water's edge, where local boys watch them from afar. The boys seem to be searching for a way to express themselves, but as they grow older, they become increasingly detached and distant from the girls. Meanwhile, the girls are portrayed as being free-spirited and sexually liberated, with their bodies seemingly open to the world.
The second verse continues with this theme, as the girls show off their "bible of tricks" with their legs. The boys "teem down the mound" and try to seize them, but the girls are not easily caught. There is an underlying tension between the two groups, with the boys seeking power and control over the girls, while the girls are more interested in exploring their own desires and individuality. The song ends with a repetition of the refrain "It's the will of love, it's the thrill of love, ah but the chill of love is coming on," suggesting that love is not always a simple or easy thing, but rather a complicated mixture of pleasure and pain.
Line by Line Meaning
They take apart their bodies like toys for the local boys
The city girls dismantle themselves and let the local boys use their bodies for pleasure.
Because they're always there at the edge of the water
The city girls are always at the water's edge.
They come from the capitol, these city girls go way down
The city girls come from the capital and travel far to be at the water's edge.
Where the stones meet the sea
The location of the water's edge is where the stones meet the sea.
And all you young girls where do you hide
Down by the water, in the restless tide
The song addresses the city girls who hide down by the water.
And the local boys hide on the mound and watch
Reaching for the speech and the word to be heard
The local boys hide and watch, trying to find their voice.
And the boys grow hard, hard to be heard
Hard to be heard as they reach for the speech
And search for the word on the water's edge
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yea you grow old and you grow cold
The boys become hardened and struggle to express themselves, eventually growing old and cold.
They would come in their hordes, these city girls
With white strings flowing from their ears
The city girls would come in large numbers with earbuds in their ears.
As the local boys behind the mound
Think long and hard about the girls from the capitol
Who dance at the water's edge, shaking their asses
The local boys envy the city girls who dance at the water's edge.
With a bible of tricks they do with their legs
The girls reach for the speech and the speech to be heard
To be hard, the local boys teem down the mound
And seize the girls from the capitol
Who shriek at the edge of the water
Shriek to speak, and reach for the speech
Reach for the speech to be heard
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yea you grow old and you grow cold
The city girls use their bodies as a tool to be heard, but the local boys eventually grow old and cold.
Their legs wide to the world like bibles open
To be speared and taking their bodies apart like toys
They dismantle themselves by the water's edge
And reach for the speech and the wide, wide world
Ah, God knows our local boys
The city girls open their legs to be used and essentially dismantle their bodies for the local boys, all the while trying to express themselves to a wider audience.
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
The song speaks of the emotions involved in these sexual encounters, with love, thrill and chill all playing a part.
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah but the chill of love is coming on
Repeating the same lines to emphasize this theme of love, thrill, and chill.
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah but the chill of love is coming down, people
The same theme continues, with love, thrill and chill all coming on strong in these encounters.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Fish141186
My most favourtie track from the album: What the narrator says sounds weightily and warningly, but it's just what happends and always has - love achieving its will with all the consequences. I have thing for those of us who can describe general facts of the world in an extraordinary way, headed by Nick Cave and others. In addition, the sonancy of verses and arrangement of the track - it cuts like a knife, alarms and me, personally, makes shivering.
@freddy35kr
this guy always fails to disappoint me
@ItsMrE.K.
one of the best nick cave musics ever
@lapatrieetude1791
First listen, I was sceptical. Second listen, it clicked. Nick's been spending some time observing life down on Brighton beach. I grew up in a seaside town, so know these feelings well...and growing older...the chill of love coming down. A lot of subtleties going on with the music here. I like it!
@karendonihue4071
Can anyone really dislike this song? Hell yes it's sinister...yet that adds to it's appeal imo.
@toperic02
This is the one GREAT track from the album.
@abdelhaknajib3912
On va parcourir tout ce qui se fait dans la musique actuelle. On décortique les textes de tous ceux qui ont pour nous valeur de musiciens et de sonwriters. De compositeurs aussi. Nick Cave, avec une petite poignée d'irréductibles de la profondeur, tels que Tom Waits, Leonrad Cohen et à un degré moindre, Pj Harvey, est l'un des rares à livrer une poésie pure, christique, nourrie aux profondes passions humaines, entre errance, espérances, désir, rêveries folles et volonté de dépassement.
@abdelhaknajib3912
Tout ce qui est donné à écouter ici coule d'une immense plongée en spéléologue dans l'âme humaine pour en scruter quelques recoins, qui demeurent entre clair et obscur. Prodigieux.
@karendonihue4071
Right 'effin on Nick. Love it!
@slumdogjay
Brilliant!