The Cave & Ellis collaboration began in earnest with the soundtrack for "The Proposition", much as the film itself sprang from director John Hillcoat's conviction that Nick could score a mean Western if he could only find the right script. Once the idea took hold, he supposed Nick might write the script too. Nick supposed, in turn, that Warren would recognise the note of impossible longing he sought for his story. Warren heard it alright: he heard the buzzing heat haze of the Australian outback as well, the tolling horizon and the tinkling presence of dread. His heat-shimmer samples and harsh, windblown, crow-lonely violin gave the images a searing immediacy: they give the story a timeless ring.
Film's prescriptive method, writing to order - although Cave and Ellis use loops rather than cues - cleared a new creative space.
In 2006, they began work on the soundtrack for Andrew Dominik's adaptation of Ron Hansen's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Although wide landscapes and brutal violence once again play a part in the drama, the main action is interior and almost entirely unspoken. Jesse is keenly aware of the danger foretold in the title but keeps his irksome enemy close. The music expresses his various awareness, his carelessness and his cruelty, his isolation and morbid sense of destiny. On Song for Jesse, a jingle bell rings like a fire alarm, a celeste plods wearily and a raindrop piano nags. Song for Bob is grievous with cello and violin but the strings' measured tread mourns neither Bob nor Jesse so much as the ageless weakness of men, their rage and their treachery.
By the time Dominik's film was released, Hillcoat was preparing his adaptation of The Road, Cormac McCarthy's story of a decrepit father and his guileless son struggling through the ruined landscape of global catastrophe. Cave and Ellis composed and recorded the score at the end of 2008 and the film is currently due for release later in 2009.
Cave & Ellis have also lent resonant dimension to a couple of startling documentaries. In 2007, they scored Geoffrey Smith's harrowing film The English Surgeon which traces Dr Henry Marsh's DIY struggle to bring modern neurosurgery to the confusion of post-Soviet Ukraine. The soundtrack amplifies the enterprising doctor's frustrations and anxieties, his practical genius and ethical dread. It implies cognitive dislocation, chemical imbalance and institutional apathy. It sighs and whines like the surgical instruments Dr Marsh shanghais from the NHS: 'Dandy Brain Cannula', 'Rat's Tooth Forceps' and 'Kerrison's Punch'. It inspires the film, even after the fact.
The Girls of Phnom Penh (2009) is Matthew Watson's second film about the consequences of Cambodia's "virginity trade". It describes the sorority of three young sex workers, Srey Leak, Me Nea and Cheata, as they struggle with their degradation and poverty. Humid loops, serrated cymbals and geysering steam stress the urgency of the girls' plight while, elsewhere, Nick's piano brims with compassion and Warren's soothing flutes curl with species regret.
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Fire and Brimstone
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the whole world was standing still and the moon was turning red.
I saw a sign in the sky, I have come to set you free
There’s a light shining bright, shining down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head.
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free
And the sun was standing still, it was dark, but I could see.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I looked around, I saw hoards, I heard a voice say “come to me”
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
I saw fire, fire, fire, fire and brimstone.
I saw fire, I saw fire, I saw fire coming down
I saw fire, fire and brimstone, fire and brimstone coming down.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
I saw fire.
The lyrics of "Fire and Brimstone" by Lawless Original Motion Picture Soundtrack describe a vivid dream that the singer had. The dream depicts a world where everything is standing still, and the moon is turning red. The singer sees a sign in the sky, which tells them that they are about to be set free. They see a bright light shining down on them, and they feel the rumbling beneath their feet.
The dream takes a somewhat eerie turn when the singer sees fire and brimstone coming down on their head. They look around and see hoards of people, and they hear a voice calling out to them. The whole world is shaking free, and the sun is standing still in the dark.
The lyrics of "Fire and Brimstone" can be interpreted in many different ways. Some may see the dream as a symbol of impending doom or judgment day, while others may see it as a call for spiritual awakening or liberation. The use of dark and ominous imagery in the song creates a sense of foreboding, and the repetition of the phrase "fire and brimstone" adds to the apocalyptic tone.
Line by Line Meaning
I had a dream last night while I was laying in my bed
The singer had a dream while sleeping in their bed.
And the whole world was standing still and the moon was turning red.
In the dream, the world was paused and the moon was changing color.
I saw a sign in the sky, I have come to set you free
The singer saw a sign in the sky that said someone was there to liberate them.
There’s a light shining bright, shining down, down on me.
A bright light was shining on the artist.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
The artist saw fire and brimstone falling on them.
I look around, I saw hoards, I heard a voice say “come to me”
The singer observed many people and heard someone calling them over.
I felt the rumbling beneath my feet and the whole world was shaking free
The ground shook and the world seemed to be breaking apart.
And the sun was standing still, it was dark, but I could see.
The sun was stationary and the world was dark, but the artist could still see.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down, down on me.
The artist continued to witness fire and brimstone raining on them.
I looked around, I saw hoards, I heard a voice say “come to me”
The artist once again observed many people and heard someone calling them over.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
The singer saw fire and brimstone falling on them again.
I saw fire, fire, fire, fire and brimstone.
The artist saw multiple instances of fire and brimstone.
I saw fire, I saw fire, I saw fire coming down
The singer repeatedly saw fire falling from the sky.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone, fire and brimstone coming down.
The singer constantly witnessed fire and brimstone raining from above.
I saw fire, fire and brimstone coming down on my head
The singer continued to observe fire and brimstone landing on them.
I saw fire.
The artist saw fire.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, VOILA MUSIC LLC, ESTATE OF VERNON A. WRAY SR.
Written by: FRED LINCOLN WRAY JR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind