Song for Jesse
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, both born in the state of Victoria, Australia, … Read Full Bio ↴Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, both born in the state of Victoria, Australia, have been playing together for more than fifteen years, with The Bad Seeds, Grinderman and Dirty Three. More recently, they've been collaborating on film scores for movies such as "The Proposition" (2005) and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (2007) as well as GisliΓΆrn Gardarsson's acrobatic theatrical productions of "Woyzeck" (2005), "Metamorphosis" (2006), and "The Road" (2009).
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.
http://www.nickcaveandwarrenellis.com
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.
http://www.nickcaveandwarrenellis.com
Song for Jesse
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Lyrics
Instrumental
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@pantagruel1066
One of the most underrated films and soundtracks ever.
@2010njdevil
100% agree......The movie perfectly weaves history and the raw emotional fabric from all circumstances of all characters into an amazing work of storytelling from the very start to the last second. The music is then an outstanding reflection/interpretation of the mood of the characters and the scenes.
@MotionPunk
200% agree. Besides, scripting, acting etc the photography in this one is a work of art. There are only few films where this perfect balance can be achieved
@tormundgiantsbane6133
Agreed, I personally thought Zimmer was hard to top but this score is perfection. Particularly on how much emotion pours from Song for Bob.
@carmencaamano9434
Creepy!!
@francemary1863
This film has to be reissued because it deserves greater success. You have to see it on a big screen. Everything is everything is successful in this film with a twilight atmosphere. The director, the unfolding story, the photo characters, the actors are at their best. Unforgettable, really.
@JosephDutra
It's a crime this wasn't nominated for Best Original Score!
@WhereIsPancakesHouse
Absolutely
@zerobalanceadventures1778
It is a true masterpiece of musical genius with so much feeling of despair and regret and pain woven into musical notes. I have been haunted by this track since the first time I heard it as well as βrather lovely thingsβ just amazing
@MRMUZO-gx7yp
Yes... So much pain..