The Birthday Party were an Australian post-punk band, from 1977 to 1983. Fo… Read Full Bio ↴The Birthday Party were an Australian post-punk band, from 1977 to 1983. Formed in Melbourne, the band were one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s, creating bleak and noisy soundscapes that provided the perfect setting for vocalist Nick Cave's difficult, disturbing stories of religion, violence, and perversity. Their sound drew upon punk, rockabilly, free jazz and the rawest blues, but transcended concise categorization. Under the direction of Cave and guitarist Rowland S. Howard, the band tore through reams of blues and rockabilly licks, spitting out hellacious feedback and noise at an unrelenting pace. As The Birthday Party's career progressed, Cave's vision got darker and the band's songs alternated between dirges and blistering sonic assaults.

Originally, the Australian band was called The Boys Next Door, comprising Cave, Howard, Mick Harvey (guitar, drums, organ, piano), bassist Tracy Pew, and drummer Phill Calvert. After the Door Door album and Hee Haw EP under that name, the band moved to London and switched its name to the deceptively benign Birthday Party. Once they arrived in Britain, their demented, knotty post-punk began to gel. They released their first international album, Prayers On Fire, in 1981, earning critical praise in the U.K. and U.S. While the band was preparing to record the follow-up, Pew was jailed for drunk driving; former Magazine member Barry Adamson, Harry Howard, and Chris Walsh filled in for the absent Pew on 1982's Junkyard.

After the release of Junkyard, Calvert joined Psychedelic Furs and the band moved to Germany, where they began collaborating with such experimental post-punk acts as Lydia Lunch and Einstürzende Neubauten. Harvey left in the summer of 1983. The group briefly continued with drummer Des Heffner, but it soon disbanded after a final concert in Melbourne, Australia. Cave had the most successful solo career, recording a series of albums in the '80s and '90s that maintained his status as a popular cult figure; Harvey joined Cave's band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Howard joined Crime & The City Solution, which also featured his brother Harry and Harvey. Tracey Pew toured with The Saints before dying of an epileptic seizure in 1986.

--Review from AMG Allmusic Guide

A Dead Song
The Birthday Party Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

this is true oh! this is true it's true

mister forever said nothing said
I can sing
hit it! make it a dead one
with words like with words like
blood and soldier and mother
o.k. o.k.

I want to I want to sleep before the end
which is most impolite
hit it! make it a dead one
if nothing crops up
I'll give you a ring
you can sing the end
o.k. o.k.
then I could get
all the little animals out of my room
hit it! with a broom, with a broom!
o.k. o.k. o.k. o.k.
put them in a big white sack
no visitors came
hit it! with words like...
like hit it! like hit it! oh! yea...
yea hit it... like like
thou thou shalt not um like
thou shalt not This is the end This
This really is the living end

This really is the living end
like really This is the end and it's still living

Overall Meaning

The Birthday Party's song A Dead Song is a seemingly nonsensical and chaotic piece of music that defies easy interpretation. At its core, the song appears to be about the desire for sleep in the face of an impending end - either literal or metaphorical. The repeated refrain of "hit it! make it a dead one" suggests a desire to end something, possibly a life or a relationship. This is reinforced by the repeated use of words like "blood" and "soldier," which call to mind violence and death. The imagery of "little animals" in a room also suggests a desire to escape from something, to rid oneself of unwanted or unwelcome elements.

However, the song is also marked by constant interruptions and non sequiturs - the opening lines ("this is true oh! this is true it's true") are immediately followed by "mister forever said nothing said," which uses repetition and wordplay to obscure any clear meaning. This pattern of disruption and disruption continues throughout the song, with lines like "put them in a big white sack / no visitors came" seeming to come out of nowhere. Ultimately, the song may be less about conveying a clear message than about creating a mood of unease, confusion, and impending doom.

Overall, A Dead Song is a challenging piece of music that rewards close listening and engagement. Its themes of violence, escape, and impending doom are conveyed through a dense, chaotic soundscape that demands repeated listens to fully appreciate. Whether one sees the song as a masterpiece of post-punk art or an incoherent mess is ultimately a matter of personal taste, but there can be no denying the power and intensity of its vision.

Line by Line Meaning

this is true oh! this is true it's true
The singer emphasizes the truthfulness of what they're about to say.

mister forever said nothing said
The singer references someone who didn't say anything important.

I can sing
The singer has the ability to sing.

hit it! make it a dead one
The artist is commanding someone to create a dead song.

with words like with words like blood and soldier and mother
The artist suggests using powerful, disturbing words in the dead song.

o.k. o.k.
The singer agrees to continue with the plan to create a dead song.

I want to I want to sleep before the end which is most impolite
The singer wants to rest before the end of the song, which is inappropriate.

if nothing crops up I'll give you a ring
The artist will contact someone if there are no issues.

you can sing the end
The artist suggests allowing someone else to sing the end of the song.

o.k. o.k.
The artist agrees to continue with the plan to create a dead song.

then I could get all the little animals out of my room
The singer hopes to remove small creatures from their room after the song is over.

hit it! with a broom, with a broom!
The artist commands someone to use a broom to get the animals out of their room.

o.k. o.k. o.k. o.k.
The singer agrees to continue with the plan to create a dead song.

put them in a big white sack
The singer plans to put the animals into a large white bag.

no visitors came
No one came to visit the singer.

hit it! with words like... like hit it! like hit it! oh! yea...
The artist suggests using powerful words in the dead song again.

yea hit it... like like
The artist continues to suggest using powerful words in the song.

thou thou shalt not um like thou shalt not This is the end This This really is the living end
The singer repeats the phrase 'This is the end' and suggests that it is truly the end of something.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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