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.
Your Funeral...My Trial
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics
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And I've walked a crooked mile
Night, the shameless widow
Doffed her weeds, in a pile
The stars all winked at me
They shamed a child
Your funeral, my trial
One thousand Marys lured me
Into gullies damned with clover
Bird with crooked wing cast
Its wicked shadow over
The bauble moon did mock
And trinket stars did smile
Your funeral, my trial
Here I am, little lamb
Let all the bells in whoredom ring
All the crooked bitches that she was
Mongers of pain
Saw the moon
Become a fang
Your funeral, my trial
Your funeral, my trial
Your funeral, my trial
These lyrics come from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' song "Your Funeral...My Trial." As with much of Cave's work, the lyrics are poetic and somewhat abstract, leaving room for interpretation. The singer refers to himself as a "crooked man" who has "walked a crooked mile," which suggests he has behaved immorally in the past. The night is personified as a "shameless widow" who sheds her mourning clothes and the stars mock the singer, perhaps for his misdeeds. The repetition of the line "Your funeral, my trial" throughout the song implies that someone has died and the singer is being judged for his role in their death, or possibly for his general wickedness.
The second stanza mentions "One thousand Marys," which could be a biblical reference to the Virgin Mary or a nod to the idea of multiple women all named Mary. The singer is lured into "gullies damned with clover," which creates an image of a beautiful but dangerous terrain. A bird with a crooked wing casts a wicked shadow, emphasizing the sinister tone of the song. The moon and stars are described as "bauble" and "trinket," suggesting they hold no real power or significance. The refrain of "Your funeral, my trial" continues to tie everything together thematically, implying that the singer is being held accountable for something.
In the final stanza, the singer addresses a "little lamb" and calls for "all the bells in whoredom" to ring. This language is provocative and layered with meaning - the lamb could represent innocence or purity, while the bells in whoredom could symbolize debauchery and sin. The mention of "crooked bitches" suggests that the singer is surrounded by corrupt women who have inflicted pain. The imagery of the moon becoming a fang is unsettling and adds to the overall sense of danger and foreboding. The song ends with a repetition of "Your funeral, my trial," closing the loop on this mysterious narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
I am a crooked man
I am a deceitful person with a crooked, immoral character.
And I've walked a crooked mile
I have lived a life of deceit and immorality.
Night, the shameless widow
Night is personified as a promiscuous widow who has no shame.
Doffed her weeds, in a pile
She removed her mourning clothes and threw them in a heap.
The stars all winked at me
The stars mocked and ridiculed me.
They shamed a child
I was made to feel ashamed like a child who has done something wrong.
Your funeral, my trial
I will be judged for my wrongdoing at your funeral, which is a symbol of my guilt and punishment.
One thousand Marys lured me
I was seduced by many women, each named Mary.
Into gullies damned with clover
I was tempted to do wrong in beautiful, but cursed places.
Bird with crooked wing cast
A bird with a deformed wing cast a twisted shadow.
Its wicked shadow over
The bird's shadow represented the evil that was cast over me.
The bauble moon did mock
The full moon taunted and ridiculed me.
And trinket stars did smile
The stars looked down on me with contempt and amusement.
Here I am, little lamb
I am weak and vulnerable, like a little lamb.
Let all the bells in whoredom ring
Let the sounds of sin and debauchery echo through the streets.
All the crooked bitches that she was
All the women who were immoral and deceitful like Night.
Mongers of pain
They were sellers of pain and suffering.
Saw the moon become a fang
They witnessed the transformation of the moon into a symbol of danger and aggression.
Your funeral, my trial
Again, the idea of punishment and guilt is emphasized.
Your funeral, my trial
The repetition of this phrase reinforces the central theme of the song - the artist's guilt and punishment at the funeral of someone else.
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