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
Cry
The Birthday Party Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
when ya walk out
I gotta fill up that space
or fill up that no-space
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears and
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can
cry cry cry cry
when ya slam that door
when that door slams
i gotta fill up that space
an' I'll pack my suitcase
I'll fill it up with no-clothes
fill it up with no-clothes
fill it up with no-clothes
fill it up with no-clothes
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll pack it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll pack it up with tears and cry cry cry cry
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can
cry cry cry cry
when ya slam that door
when that door slams
I'll dig my-self a hole
and I'll fill up that space
I'll fill it up with no-flesh
an' I'll fill it up with flesh
I'll fill it up with no-flesh
an' I'll fill it up with flesh
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll pack it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll fill it up with tears and
cry cry cry cry
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can swim
where no-fish can
cry cry cry cry
fish swim cry fish crryyy cry cryyy
The lyrics to The Birthday Party's song Cry depict the raw pain of someone that has been abandoned by their lover. The singer is left with a void after their partner leaves and they struggle to fill that space with anything but tears. The idea of crying so much that the tears themselves can fill the void left by the absence of the lover is repeated throughout the song. The tone is desperate, and the use of repetition and broken language reflects the singer's emotional state.
The singer imagines a future where they are alone in a space so desolate that "no-fish can swim." This metaphorical image invokes a sense of claustrophobia and isolation that reflects the emotional isolation the singer feels. The third verse paints an even bleaker picture; the singer imagines digging themselves into a hole and filling it with flesh - a gruesome image that illustrates the depths of despair that the singer has been plunged into.
Overall, Cry is a bleak depiction of the pain of being left alone. Through its stark and minimalist lyrics, the song communicates a sense of desperation and loneliness that makes it a powerful expression of emotional pain.
Line by Line Meaning
when ya walk outa here
When you leave this place
when ya walk out
When you exit
I gotta fill up that space
I must occupy the emptiness left behind
or fill up that no-space
Or occupy the absence
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll replace it with my sadness
I'll fill it up with tears and
I'll replace it with my tears and
cry cry cry cry
Cry repeatedly
where no-fish can swim
In a place that's not suitable for living organisms
when ya slam that door
When you forcefully shut that door
I'll pack my suitcase
I'll prepare and pack my luggage
I'll fill it up with no-clothes
I'll put clothes in it
fill it up with no-clothes
Fill it up only with clothes
fill it up with no-clothes
Put only clothes in it
I'll pack it up with tears
I'll make it even more emotional by including my tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll pack it with my tears
I'll pack it up with tears and cry cry cry cry
I'll fill it up with my sadness and cry repeatedly
when ya slam that door
When you forcefully shut that door
I'll dig my-self a hole
I'll create a depression or pit
and I'll fill up that space
And I'll fill the emptiness
I'll fill it up with no-flesh
I'll fill it with nothingness
an' I'll fill it up with flesh
And I'll fill it with something living
I'll fill it up with no-flesh
I'll fill it with emptiness
an' I'll fill it up with flesh
And I'll fill it with something living
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll replace it with my tears
I'll pack it up with tears
I'll make it even more emotional by including my tears
I'll fill it up with tears
I'll pack it with my tears
I'll fill it up with tears and
I'll replace it with my tears and
cry cry cry cry
Cry repeatedly
where no-fish can swim
In a place that's not suitable for living organisms
fish swim cry fish crryyy cry cryyy
An ambiguous restatement of prior lines and themes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: REBECCA LYNN HOWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shpira LTD
So good, so hysterical in a good way, and than its peacefull for a moment. Love it.
ammar.ahsan.666
I can cry to this
The Walking Dunning-Kruger Effect
Oh, can ya, Trevor?
verwurster
B.P. for ever !!!!!!!!
Ante CRO
sadly no.this is the early work of Nick Cave and his band before he was with Bad Seeds
Don McCoy
the fish man swim.
NinjaWithCookies
can I really be original, don't think so
germanicus fink
This your band?
R00K
yes
Nolanoesnola
No, its my band