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
Dead Joe
The Birthday Party Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho Dead Joe
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho Dead Joe
welcome to the car smash
welcome to the car smash
welcome to the car smash
Dead Joe
Junk-Sculpture turning back to JUNK
Junk-Sculpture turning back to JUNK
Junk-Sculpture turning back to JUNK
ju-ju-ju-ju-junk
Dead Joe
oh Joe no-o-o-o-o-o! it's christmas time Joe
it's christmans time now for you
and all the little bells are hanging two-by-two
the holly and the nativity
oh speak to me Joe speak to me Joe speak to me oh
oh-oh-oh---oh--oh--oh--oh--oh--oh--oh
De-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e--e-e-e-ead Joe
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho Dead Joe
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho Dead Joe
welcome to the car smash
welcome to the car smash
welcome to the car crash
you can't tell the girls from the boys anymore
you can't tell the girls from the boys anymore
you can't tell the girls from the boys anymore
you can't tell the girls from the boys anymore
ho-Oh-Oh-OH-Oh-Oh---Oh--Oh--Oh---Oh---Oh---Oh
De-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e---e-e-e-e-ead Joe.
The Birthday Party's song Dead Joe is a dark, chaotic and somewhat eerie track, as it tells the story of a man named Joe who has died in a car crash. The repeated refrain of "Dead Joe" throughout the song acts as a kind of mantra or chant, emphasizing the finality and inevitability of Joe's demise. At the same time, the lyrics hint at a sense of confusion and disbelief, as if the singer is struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
The song opens with a description of the "car smash", which is presented almost as a kind of perverse spectacle or entertainment. The repetition of "welcome to the car smash" adds to the sense of a macabre theatre being played out. As the song progresses, the focus shifts to the aftermath of Joe's death, with the singer expressing a kind of nostalgia for the Christmas season, but with a sense of disgust at the commercialization and superficiality of the holiday.
Junk-Sculpture turning back to JUNK, adds a sense of decay and decay of beauty, even something crafted with an effort eventually would be reduced to nothing.
Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on mortality, with The Birthday Party showing their ability to create a raw and atmospheric piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Dead Joe Joe... Joe Joe
The repetition of Joe's name sets the tone for the song and establishes that it is about a person named Joe who has died.
oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho Dead Joe
This line is repeated throughout the song and serves as a refrain. It expresses the singer's disbelief and shock over Joe's death.
welcome to the car smash
This line introduces the idea that Joe died in a car accident and the scene of the accident is being depicted as a car smash.
a-a-a-a-a-smash
This line emphasizes the severity of the car accident and the violence of it.
Junk-Sculpture turning back to JUNK
This line is a metaphor for Joe's death. Like a piece of junk that has been turned back into junk, Joe was alive and now he's dead.
ju-ju-ju-ju-junk
This line repeats the metaphor of Joe being like a piece of junk that has lost its value and purpose.
oh Joe no-o-o-o-o-o! it's christmas time Joe
The mention of Christmas time highlights the contrast between the holiday season and Joe's death, a tragic event that disrupts the festive mood.
it's christmans time now for you
This line suggests that Joe has died just as the Christmas season has arrived and he won't be able to enjoy it.
and all the little bells are hanging two-by-two
This line creates a sense of nostalgia for the holiday season and emphasizes the contrast between life and death.
the holly and the nativity
These items are symbols of the Christmas season and are mentioned to further emphasize the contrast between festivity and tragedy.
oh speak to me Joe speak to me Joe speak to me oh
The singer is expressing a desire to communicate with Joe, even though he is dead. This line highlights the sense of loss and grief felt by the singer.
oh-oh-oh---oh--oh--oh--oh--oh--oh--oh
This line consists of vocalizations that express the singer's emotion and serve as a transition between different parts of the song.
De-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e--e-e-e-ead Joe
This line repeats the refrain and serves as a reminder of Joe's death.
welcome to the car crash
This line repeats the earlier line about the car smash and reinforces the idea that the scene of the accident is being depicted as a car crash.
you can't tell the girls from the boys anymore
This line suggests that the accident was so severe that it has disfigured Joe's body to the point where his gender is no longer distinguishable.
ho-Oh-Oh-OH-Oh-Oh---Oh--Oh--Oh---Oh---Oh---Oh
This line consists of vocalizations that express the singer's emotion and serve as a transition between different parts of the song.
De-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e---e-e-e-e-ead Joe.
This line, with its drawn-out pronunciation of 'dead', is a mournful reminder of Joe's death and the song ends with a sense of finality and loss.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@morticiaaddams9777
This album brings back happy memories of my wild youth in London in the 80's. I'm 61 now and still love listening to the early Birthday party. It never gets old
@jowilliams6803
I’m having this played at my funeral. Zero fucks given. Been a massive Birthday Party and Nick et al fan for years. So much so I have a nick cave tattoo. ( of his autograph) so it won’t come as a massive surprise. He was a fucking lovely man when we met. I couldn’t believe my luck 😂
@doe8482
Psychedelic rock, post-punk, acid rock, art punk, shock rock
@iltourcinico
Noise rock, punk blues, garage rock, psychobilly,cowpunk, no wave.
@berndjenter4005
.....Blues Trash.....
@notsure4746
RIP Joe
@nookiebroon4424
Cave's never been better than this album.
@lancestrickland2092
r.i.p. anita
@saxongreen78
I'm guessing this was his (intense!) way of grieving for his father (killed in 1979.)
Peace be with you, Nick.
@styxcreek
Sodham G'morris Colin Cave