And it's greenbacks when I'm hard off and hell when I die

If the sea were made of Whiskey and I was a duck
I'd swim to the bottom and never come up
Oh, but the sea ain't made of Whiskey and I ain't a duck
So I play Jack Of Diamonds and trust on my luck

Table of Contents

Plain Gold Ring

From Live Seeds

Plain gold ring on her finger she wore
It was where everyone could see
It belonged to someone, but not me
On her hand she wore a plain gold ring

Plain gold ring's got a story to tell
It was one that I knew very well
In my heart it will never be spring
Long as she wears that plain gold ring

When night time comes calling on me
I know why I will never be free
I can't stop these teardrops of mine, oh no
I'm gonna love her till the end of time

Plain gold ring's got but one thing to say
I'm gonna love her till my dying day
In my heart it will never be spring
Long as she wears that plain gold ring

Table of Contents

Oh, Happy Day

Oh happy day, oh happy day
When Jesus washed, oh when He washed
When my Jesus washed, He washed my sins away

Oh happy day
He taught me how to walk, fight and pray, fight and pray
And in rejoicing, in rejoicing every, every day, every day.

Oh happy day, oh happy day;
When my Jesus washed, oh when He washed
When my Jesus washed all the sins away

Oh happy day, yeah.
You see He taught me how to watch, fight and pray fight and pray
And in rejoicing, in rejoicing every day, every day

Oh happy, happy day, oh happy, happy day
Oh it felt so good when Jesus, when Jesus washed,
When my Jesus washed my sins away.

Table of Contents

Viviane

These lyrics were taken from an edition of The Witness, the Official fan
newsletter.

Viviane
I will love you till the last nail has been driven in

Viviane
Till we disappear hand in hand into oblivian (sic)

Oh Viviane
I will love you until the void delivers us from this world we're
living in

Oh oh Viviane
I love you until the ghost of your smile grows faint and
withering

Viviane
You are my heroin, my aspirin, my insulin

Viviane
The winds of change are blowing and I am shivering....

(...the rest (if indeed there is any more) is obscured.)

Table of Contents

With Barry Adamson:

The Sweetest Embrace

From the album Oedipus Schmoedipus by Barry Adamson

Our time is done my love
We've laid it all to waste
One thousand moonlit kisses
can't sweeten this bitter taste
My desire for you is endless
and I'll love you 'till we fall
I just don't want you no more
and that's the sweetest embrace of all

To think we can find happiness
hidden in a kiss
Ah, to think we can find happiness
that's the greatest mistake there is
There is nothing left to cling to babe
There is nothing left to soil
I just don't want you no more
and that's the sweetest embrace of all

Ooohhh where did it begin
When all we did was lose
There's nothin' left to win

So lay your weapons down
they serve no purpose in your hands
And if you wanna hold me
then go ahead and hold me
I won't upset your plans
If it's revenge you want
then take it babe
Or you can walk right out the door
I just don't want you anymore
And that's the sweetest embrace of all

Ooohhh where did it begin
When all we did was lose
There's nothin' left to win

It's over babe
And it really is a shame
We are losers you and me babe
In a rigged and crooked game
My desire for you is endless
And I love you most of all
I just don't want you no more
and that's the sweetest embrace of all

Table of Contents

With Current 93:

All The Pretty Little Horsies

From the Current '93 album All The Pretty Horsies

Hush-a-bye
Don't You cry
Go to sleepy little baby
Go to sleepy little baby
When You wake
You shall have
All the pretty little horsies
All the pretty little horsies

Blacks and bays
Dapples and greys
All the pretty little horsies

Way down yonder
In the meadow
Lies a poor little lamby
Bees and butterflies
Flitting round his eyes
Poor little thing is crying
"Mammy"

Go to sleep
Don't you cry
Rest Your head upon the clover
Rest Your head upon the clover
In Your dreams
You shall ride
While Your Mammy's watching over

Blacks and bays
Dapples and greys
All the pretty little horsies

All the pretty little horsies
All the pretty little horsies
All the pretty little horsies

Table of Contents

PATRIPASSIAN

From the Current '93 album All the Pretty Horsies

The rivers of Babylon flow, and fall, and carry
away...Jesus is alone on earth, not merely with no
one to feel and share His agony, but with no one
even to know of it. Heaven and He are the only ones
to know.

Jesus is in a garden, not of delight, like the first
Adam, who fell and took with him all
mankind, but of agony, where He has saved
Himself and all mankind

He suffers this anguish and abandonment in the
horror of the night.

Jesus will be in agony until the end of the world.
There must be no resting in the meantime...

Table of Contents

Radio Sessions, Extremely Limted Releases, and Bootlegs:

God's Hotel

Available on the Rare On Air benefit CD. An audio sample is available

Everybody got a room
Everybody got a room
Everybody got a room
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got a room.
Well you'll never see a sign hanging on the door
Sayin 'No vacancies anymore'.

Everybody got wings
Everybody got wings
Everybody got wings
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got wings.
You'll never see a sign hanging on the door
Sayin 'At no time may both feet leave the floor'

Everybody got a harp
Everybody got a harp
Everybody got a harp
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got a harp.
You'll never see a sign hanging on the wall
Sayin 'No harps allowed in the hotel at all'.

Everybody got a cloud
Everybody got a cloud
Everybody got a cloud
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got a cloud.
You'll never see a sign hanging on the wall
Sayin 'Smoking and drinking will be thy downfall'.

Everybody hold a hand
Everybody hold a hand
Everybody hold a hand
In God's Hotel.
Everybody hold a hand.
You'll never see a sign hung up above your door
'No visitors allowed in rooms, By law!'

Everybody's halo shines
Everybody's halo shines
Everybody's halo shines
In God's Hotel.
Everybody's halo lookin' fine.
You won't see a sign staring at you from the wall
Sayin 'Lights out! No burnin the midnight oil!'

Everybody got credit
Everybody got credit
Everybody got credit
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got good credit.
You'll never see a sign stuck on the cash-box drawer
Sayin 'Credit tommorow!!' or 'Want credit?!? Haw, haw haw!!'

Everybody is blind
Everybody is blind
Everybody is blind
In God's Hotel.
Everybody is blind.
You'll never see a sign on the front door
'No red skins. No Blacks. And that means you, baw!'

Everybody is deaf
Everybody is deaf
Everybody is deaf
In God's Hotel.
Everybody is deaf.
You'll never find a sign peeling off the bar-room wall
'Though shalt not blaspheme, cuss, holler or bawl'.

Everybody is dumb
Everybody is dumb
Everybody is dumb
In God's Hotel.
Everybody is dumb.
So you'll never see on the visiting-room wall
'Though shalt not blaspheme, cuss, holler or bawl'.

Everybody got Heaven
Everybody got Heaven
Everybody got Heaven
In God's Hotel.
Everybody got Heaven.
So you'll never see scribbled on the bathroom wall
'Let Rosy get ya Heaven, dial 686-844!'

Table of Contents

500 Miles

An audio sample is available

If you miss the train I'm on
Then you know that I'll be gone
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred
miles
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four
Lord I'm 500 miles away from home
500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles,
Lord I'm 500 miles away from home

Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name
Lord I can't go-a-home this-a-way
This-a-way, this-a-way, this-a-way, this-a-way,
Lord I can't go-a-home this-a-way

Table of Contents

What Can I Give You?

From a Frech promo CD given away with Henry's Dream.

All my life I failed to see
One good thing standing in front of me
And the planets gravitate around you
And the stars, the stars surround you
And the angels in heaven adore you
And the saints, the saints all stand and applaud you

What can I give you?
What can I give you in return?

The shadow came creeping, a criminal
That you chased, babe, from my life
And sometimes when I'm sleeping I see him shuffle against the
night
Oh, he's waiting, yeah he's waiting to return
And each step I take moves me one step below you
And you must do in order to console me
Help me, help me, help me, baby, reach down and collect me

What can I give you?
What can I give you in return?

Galaxies collide; they shower down around you
And I searched, I stumbled and then I found you
In your robe, in your crown, reaching low, babe
Reaching low down to the ground

What can I give you?
What can I give you in return?

Table of Contents

[----**----]

Return to the Lyrics and Chords page.



    * Soundtrack Contributions Chords *



Faraway, So Close chords transcribed by NP Mack the Knife and
Time Jesum... chords transcribed by Black

Table of Contents:

* Faraway, So Close
* Mack The Knife
* Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum

***************************************************

    Faraway, So Close



C/a
C a C
Empty out your pockets toss the lot upon the floor
all those treasures my friends...
F G
so kiss close all your wounds and call living life a day
C
for the planets...
F G F G C
so faraway, so faraway and yet so close


    Mack the Knife



C6 Dm7
See the shark with teeth like razors
Dm G7 C6
And he wears them in his face
C9 C Dm7
And Macheath has got a knife
C6
But not in such an obvious place

Now see the shark, how red his fins are
As he slashes at his prey
Mack the Knife wears fancy gloves
Which gives a minimum away


    Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum



This is actually violin led, but if you were to play it on the guitar
here's how it would be. This is just a basic idea, there is a lot more
going on in this song.

Rhythm guitar over the violin is just-- F# --- B changing to B on the
high points of the riff

Riff 1.
G-----6--6-4-2-4-6--6-----7-7-6-4-4---7-6-4-2-4
D---4-------------------------------------------------
You play this a couple of times then-

Riff 2
E---9---9-7-5-7-9-9----10-10-9-7-7----10-9-7-5-7
B-7-----------------------------------------------------
Then you play this as necessary making
slight alterations here and there

F B
We were called to the forest, and we went down.
F
A wind wind blew warm and eloquent,
F
We were searching for the secrets of the universe,
B
we rounded up demons and forced them
F
to tell us what it all meant.

Riff 2 repeat as necessary

Verse same as first

Riff 2 again but end with
E---15-15-14-12-14-

Verse

Riff 2

outro
Riff 3
E--5-7-9-10-12-14-15-17с repeat a few times

Riff 4
E--17-15-14-15-14-12-10-9-10-9-10-9-7-5



    * Lyrics From Film and TV *


Soundtrack Contributions

The following are lyrics to Nick Cave songs
that have been contributed to soundtracks
of various films and a television series.
This page was developed from Maurice's
document of "Unpublished Lyrics to Nick
Cave Songs". From that document:

Many thanks to Paul Humphrey,
Robert Schmitz and Carmen Priebe!

Table of Contents:

* Mojo (Cave)
Used in Mojo

* The Big Hurt (Wayne Shanklin)
Used in Mojo

* Mack The Knife (Weill)
Used in September Songs: The Music of
Kurt Weill

* There Is A Light (Cave)
Used in Batman Forever

* Faraway, So Close! (Cave)
Used in In weiter Ferne, so nah! (aka
Faraway, So Close!)

* Mama's Boy
Used in Johnny Suede

* (I'll Love You) Till the End of the
World (Cave)
Used in Bis ans Ende der Welt (aka
Until the End of the World)

Songs used in Television Show soundtracks:

* Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non
Riverentum (Cave)
Used in Songs in the Key of X: The
X-Files Soundtrack

* Red Right Hand
Used in Songs in the Key of X: The
X-Files Soundtrack.

Other songs used in films:

* Christina the Astonishing
Used in Jonas in the Desert

* From Her To Eternity
Used in Der Himmel эber Berlin (aka
Wings of Desire), and The Freshman

* Red Right Hand
Used in Box Of Moonlight, Scream, and
Dumb and Dumber. A remixed version was
used in Scream 2

* Cassiel's Song
Used in In weiter Ferne, so nah! (aka
Faraway, So Close!)

* Lament
Used in Gas Food Lodging

    Mojo



Nick performed this for the Italian film Mojo, and it is
available on a CD called Soho.

They call him Joe The Dragon
He's on the water wagon
He's got that look of mourning and concentration on his
face
Carries a 38 special
A six inch barrel
The saddest damn man in the entire human race

Mojo (4x)

Joe's mind is full of motors(?)
He is always taking photos
Of the remains of his beserk little twists
Yes ....(?) polaroids
Of his little golden boys
18 carat corpses with wired wrists

Mojo (4x)

Blood thicker than water will flow
The fire will eat the streets of old Soho
Daddy's out the back with little Joe
With his vaseline and his violin and bow -
Mojo

Down on Compton(?) Road
Joe ain't never going home
Till he finds what he is searching for
Well mad Mathildas in his jacket
They crank and make him record(?)
As he does and make his funny little laugh and dance
upon your floor

Mojo (repeat)


    The Big Hurt



Nick performed this for the Italian film Mojo, along with Gallon
Drunk and it is available on a CD called Soho.

Now it begins, now that you're gone
Needles and pins, twilight till dawn
Watching that clock till you return
And lighting that torch and watching it burn

Now it begins, day after day
This is my life ticking away
Waiting to hear footsteps that say:
Love will appear and this time will stay

Each time you go
I try to pretend
It's over at last
This time the big hurt will end

Now it begins, now that you're gone
Needles and pins, twilight till dawn
So if you don't come back again
I wonder when, oh when will it end?
The big hurt (repeat)


    Mack The Knife



Nick covered this in a segment in September Songs: A Tribute to
Kurt Weill

See the shark with teeth like razors
And he wears them in his face
And Macheath has got a knife
But not in such an obvious place

Now see the shark, how red his fins are
As he slashes at his prey
Mack the Knife wears fancy gloves
Which gives a minimum away

By the Thames' turbid waters
Men abruptly tumble down
Well is it plague, or is it cholera
Or because Macky's in town?

And the child bride, in her nighty
Whose assailant's still at large
Violated in her slumbers
Macky how much did you charge?

In the ghastly fire in Soho
Seven children had a go
In the crowd stands Mack the Knife
But he isn't asked and he don't know

In the crowd stands Mack The Knife
But he ain't asked and he don't know


    There is a Light



From the Batman Forever soundtrack. An audio sample is available.

Hey there sugar where ya gunna go?
I'm going downtown Daddy-O
What ya gunna do when you get there, girl?
I'm gunna get messed up in a God-Shaped Hole
Hey Mr Hophead, what ya gunna do?
I'm going downtown for some bad ju-ju
Ya going downtown too, Mr. Gigolo?
Damn right I am, Daddy-O...

There is a light thay shines over this city tonight
There is a light that shines over this city tonight
Let it shine

O Mr High Roller where ya gunna go?
Where the real high-rollin rollers roll real dough
Hey Mr Killer Man what ya gunna do?
Me and Mr Death are going downtown too
Ain't there one God Fearing citizen about?
They're all holed up and they ain't comin' out
What about Mr. Preacher to forgive us our sins?
Not that carrion crow with blood on his chin
And Mr. Politician can't he lend a hand?
He's too busy sucking on the guts of this town
And what about God and this Armageddon?
He's all blissed out, man, up in Heaven
Ain't there nowhere to run, ain't there nowhere to go?
(repeat line 3 more times)
Yeah, look to the sky, Daddy-O

There is a light that shines over this city tonight
There is a light that shines over this city tonight
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

What are the little kids gunna do, man?
The little kids are all standing around
What are the kids doing, do you know?
They are looking to the Sky, Daddy-O.


    Time Jesum Transeuntum Et Non Riverentum



Hidden track on the X-Files TV series soundtrack. An audio sample
is available.

We were called to the forest,
and we went down.
A wind wind blew warm and eloquent,

We were searching for the secrets of the universe,
we rounded up demons and forced them
to tell us what it all meant.

We tied them to trees,
and broke them down, one by one.
On a scrap of paper they wrote these words:

(And as we read them, the sun broke,
through the trees.)

"Dread the passage of Jesus, for he will not return."

Then we headed back to our world,
and left the forest behind,
our hearts singing with all the knowledge of love.

But somewhere, somehow, we lost the message,
along the way,
and when we got home, we bought ourselves a house.

And we bought a car that we did not use,
And we bought a cage,and two singing birds.
And at night we'd sit and listen to the canary song.

For we'd both run right out of words.

Now the stars they are all angled wrong,
and the sun and the moon refuse to burn.

But I remember a message,
in a demon's hand,

"Dread the passage of Jesus, for he does not return."
...he does not return
...he does not return


    Faraway, So Close!



From: www.webstation.com/mahler/
From the soundtrack to th film of the same name.

Empty out your pockets, toss the lot upon the floor.
All those treasures, my friend,
you don't need them anymore.
Your days are all through dying,
they gave all their ghosts away,
so kiss close all your wounds and call living life a
day.
For the planets gravitate around you,
and the stars shower down around you,
and the angels in heaven adore you,
and the saints all stand and applaud you.
so faraway,
so faraway and yet so close.

Say farewell to the passing of the years,
though all your sweet goodbyes will fall upon deaf
ears.
Kiss so softly the mouths of the ones you love,
beneath the September moon and the heavens above.
And the world will turn without you,
and history will soon forget about you,
but the heavens they will reward you,
and the saints will be there to escort you.
So faraway,
so faraway and yet so close.

Do not grieve at the passing of mortality,
for life's but a thing of terrible gravity.
And the planets gravitate around you,
and the stars shall dance about you,
and the angels in heaven adore you,
and the saints all stand and applaud you.
So faraway,
so faraway and yet so close.


    Mama's Boy



Thanks to Patrick Breen and HPEllison
Used in Johnny Suede

I was born in a motel room
the night my Daddy lost his job
Just after one, he pulled a gun
and blew the brains out of some poor slob

They call me mamma...
They call me mamma...
They call me mamma's boy
But I don't care

I'll be a mamma...
I'll be a mamma...
I'll be a mamma's boy
since Daddy got...the electric chair.


    (I'll Love You) Till the End of the World



From the soundtrack of Until the End of the World. An audio
sample is available.

It was a miracle I even got outta Longwood alive,
This town fulla men with big mouths and no guts,
I mean, if you can just picture it,
The whole third floor of the hotel gutted by the blast,
And the street below showered in shards of broken
glass,
And all the drunks pourin' outta the dance halls,
Starin' up at the smoke and the flames,
And the blind pencil seller wavin' his stick,
Shoutin' for his dog that lay dead on the side of the
road,
And me, if you can believe this, at the wheel of the
car
Closin my eyes and actually prayin',
Not to God above, but to you, sayin',

Help me girl, help me girl
I'll love you till the end of the world
With your eyes black as coal and your long
dark curls

Some things we plan, we sit and we invent and we plot
and cook up,
Others are works of inspiration, of poetry,
And it was this genius hand that pushed me up the hotel
stairs
To say my last goodbye,
To her hair white as snow, and her pale blue eyes,
Sayin "I gotta go, I gotta go, the bomb and the bread
basket
Are ready to blow,"
In this town of men with big mouths and no guts,
The pencil seller's dog spooked by the explosion
And leapin' under my wheels as I careered outta
Longwood on my way to you,
Waitin in your dress, in your dress of blue

I said thank you girl, thank you girl
I'll love you till the end of the world
With your eyes black as coal and your long
dark curls

And with the horses prancin' through the fields,
With my knife in my jeans and the rain on the shield,
I sang a song for the glory of the beauty of you,
Waitin for me in your dress of blue

Thank you girl, thank you girl
I'll love you till the end of the world
With your eyes black as coal and your long
dark curls



    * Traditional Song Lyrics *



Many of Nick's songs have their basis in traditional songs.
Listed here are the traditional lyrics to songs you may have
thought were Nick's creations. Most of these are originally
available at the Digital Tradition Folk Song Database at
http://www.deltablues.com Thanks to Erik for the info!

Table of Contents:

* Rye Whiskey
* Black Betty
* Young Hunting - Traditional version of Henry Lee
* Down in a Willow Garden - Traditional version of The Willow
Garden
* Katy Cruel - Traditional version of When I First Came To
Town
* Oxford Tragedy - Traditional version of Knoxville Girl
* How Long, How Long Blues - Traditional song similar to The
Train Song
* Mister Frog Went A-Courting - Traditional version of King
Kong Kittchee Ki-Mi-O
* Banks of the Roses - Traditional song similar to Where the
Wild Roses Grow
* All The Pretty Little Horsies - Traditional song that Nick
used for the track he wrote on the Current 93 album All The
Pretty Little Horses
* Stagalee - Three tradional versions of the harsh track on
Murder Ballads
* Peace In the Valley - Lyrics by T. Dorsey (as sung by J.
Cash on "At Folsom Prison and San Quentin"). This is a
likely inspiration for Nick's New Morning
* Wade In The Water - Traditional lyrics of a song Nick has
used live.
* Oh, Happy Day - Lyrics of a song Nick has used live.
* Cindy - Lyrics of a song Nick has used live.
* Love Henry - Original version of Henry Lee
* Tupelo Blues - A likely inspiration for Nick's Tupelo
* I Rowed a Little Boat - A song similar to My Little Boat Is
Empty

    Rye Whiskey



Nick's version is also available.

I'll eat when I'm hungry,
I'll drink when l'm dry,
If the hard times don't kill me,
I'll lay down and die.

Rye whisky, rye whisky,
Rye whisky, I cry,
If you don't give me rye whisky,
I surely will die.

I'll tune up my fiddle,
And I'll rosin my bow,
I'll make myself welcome,
Wherever I go.

Beefsteak when I'm hungry,
Red liquor when I'm dry,
Greenbacks when I'm hard up,
And religion when I die.

They say I drink whisky,
My money's my own;
All them that don't like me,
Can leave me alone.

Sometimes I drink whisky,
Sometimes I drink rum,
Sometimes I drink brandy,
At other times none.

But if I get boozy,
My whisky's my own,
And them that don't like me,
Can leave me alone.

Jack o' diamonds, jack o' diamonds,
I know you of old,
You've robbed my poor pockets
Of silver and gold.

Oh, whisky, you villain,
You've been my downfall,
You've kicked me, you've cuffed me,
But I love you for all.

If the ocean was whisky,
And I was a duck,
I'd dive to the bottom
To get one sweet suck.

But the ocean ain't whisky
And I ain't a duck,
So we'll round up the cattle
And then we'll get drunk.

My foot's in my stirrup,
My bridle's in my hand,
l'm leaving sweet Lillie,
The fairest in the land.
Her parents don't like me,
They say l'm too poor;
They say I'm unworthy
To enter her door.

Sweet milk when l'm hungry,
Rye whisky when l'm dry,
If a tree don't fall on me,
I'll live till I die.

I'll buy my own whisky,
I'll make my own stew,
If I get drunk, madam,
It's nothing to you.

I'll drink my own whisky,
I'll drink my own wine,
Some ten thousand bottles
I've killed in my time.

I've no wife to quarrel
No babies to bawl;
The best way of living
Is no wife at all.

Way up on Clinch Mountain
I wander alone,
l'm as drunk as the devil,
Oh, let me alone.

You may boast of your knowledge
An' brag of your sense,
'Twill all be forgotten
A hundred years hence.

(Negro Variant)
In my little log cabin,
Ever since I been born,
Dere ain't been no nothin'
'Cept dat hard salt, parched corn.

But I know whar's a henhouse,
De turkey he charve;
An, if ol' Massa don' kill me
I cain't never starve.

(Variant chorus)
Rye whisky, rye whisky,
You're no friend to me;
You killed my poor daddy,
Goddamn you, try me.

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
Note: One of the more exhaustive texts.


    Black Betty



Nick's version is also available.

Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bamhalamb,
Black Betty had a baby,
Bambalamb,
Black Betty had a baby,
Bambalamb.

Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bam-ba-lamb,
It de cap'n's baby,
Bam-ba-lamb,
It de cap'n's baby,
Bam-ba-lamb.
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
But she didn' feed de baby,
Bambalamb,
But she didn' feed de baby,
Bambalamb.

Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bamhalamb,
Oh, Lawd, Black Betty,
Bambalamb,
Black Betty, where'd you come from?
Bambalamb,
Black Betty, where'd you come from?
Bambalamb.

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
Note: Black Betty was the whip used in some southern
prisons.


    Young Hunting



Traditional version of Henry Lee. Nick's version is also
available.

It happened on one evening late,
As the maid was going to bed,
She heard a sound, a beautiful sound,
That made her heart feel glad.

She thought it was her brother John,
Returning from the cane;
But who should it be but Lord Henry,
Just from his wild hunting.

"Get down, get down, Lord Henry,
And stay all night with me;
For the very best lodging in Mulveren Town,
The best I'll give to thee."

"I won't get down, I shan't get down,
To stay all night with you;
For there's a prettier girl in the merry green lands,
That I love much better than you."

As he leaned o'er his milk-white steed
And kisses gave her three,
She held up a knife in her right hand
And pierced him heartily.

"O live, O live, Lord Henry,
Half an hour or more;
For the very best doctors in Mulveren Town,
You'll soon be in their care."

"O live, O live, how can I live,
How can I live you see,
When l can feel my own heart's blood,
Come trinkling o'er my knee?"

She called her waiting maids unto her
To view his body so fair,
Saying, "Of all this finery you see around here,
The finest you shall wear."

Some took him by his curly locks,
Some by his hands and feet,
And threw him in the cold, dark well,
Which was both cold and deep

"Lie there, lie there, Lord Henry,
Till the flesh rots off your bones!
That prettier girl in the merry green lands,
Shall mourn for your return."

There was a pretty parrot bird,
Sitting high upon a limb,
Saying, "You murdered Lord Henry,
And in the well threw him."

"Come down, come down, my pretty parrot bird,
And sit on my right knee;
Your cage shall be the finest gold,
And the door of ivory."

"I won't come down, I shan't come down,
To sit on your right knee;
For you have murdered Lord Henry,
And soon you'd murder me"

"I wish I had my bended bow,
My arrow and my string;
I'd pierce a dart so close your heart,
Those notes no more you'd sing."

"O if you had your bended bow,
Your arrow and your string,
I'd take my flight to the merry green lands
And tell what I'd seen."

Printed in Folk-songs of the South


    Down in a Willow Garden



Traditional version of The Willow Garden. Nick's version is also
available.

Down in a willow garden
Where me and my love did meet,
'Twas there we sat a courting
My love dropped off to sleep.

I had a bottle of the Burglar's wine
Which my true love did not know,
And so I poisoned that dear little girl
Down under the bank below.

I stobbed her with a dagger,
Which was a bloody knife,
I threw her in the river,
Which was a dreadful sight.

My father often told me
That money would set me free,
If I would murder that dear little girl
Whose name was Rose Connelly.

And now he sits in his own cottage door,
a wiping his weeping eye,
And now he waits for his own dear son,
Upon the scaffold high.

My race is run beneath the sun,
Lo, hell's now waiting for me,
For I have murdered that dear little girl
Whose name was Rose Connelly.

From Folk Song USA, Lomax
Note: Tune is variant on Rosin the Beau


    Katy Cruel



Traditional version of When I First Came To Town. Nick's version
is also available.

When I first came to town
They called me the roving jewel
Now they've changed their tune
They call me Katy Cruel
Oh diddle day, oh diddle lie o day

Oh that I was where I would be
Then I would be where I am not
Here I am where I must be
Go where I would, I can not
Oh diddle day, oh diddle lie o day

When I first came to town
They brought me the bottles plenty
Now they've changed their tune
They bring me the bottles empty
Oh diddle day, oh diddle lie o day

CHORUS

I know who I love
And I know who does love me
I know where I'm going
And I know whose going with me
Oh diddle day, oh diddle lie o day

CHORUS

Down the road I go
And through the boggy mire
Straight way cross the field
And to my heart's desire
Oh, diddle day, oh, diddle lie o day

CHORUS


    Oxford Tragedy



Traditional version of Knoxville Girl. Nick's version is also
available.

From English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, Sharp.
Collected from Mary Wilson and Mrs. Townley, Kentucky, 1917

Once there was a little tailor boy
About sixteen years of age;
My father hired me to a miller
That I might learn the trade.

I fell in love with a Knoxville girl,
Her name was Flora Dean.
Her rosy cheeks, her curly hair,
I really did admire.

Her father he persuaded me
To take Flora for a wife;
The devil he persuaded me
To take Flora's life.

Up stepped her mother so bold and gay,
So boldly she did stand;
Johnny dear, go marry her
And take her off my hands.

I went unto her father's house
About nine o'clock at night,
A-asking her to take a walk
To do some prively talk.

We had not got so very far
Till looking around and around,
He stooping down picked up a stick
And knocks little Flora down.

She fell upon her bended knees,
For mercy she did cry:
O Johnny dear, don't murder me,
For I'm not fit to die.

I took her by her lily-white hands
A-slung her around and around;
I drug her off to the river-side,
And plunged her in to drown.

I returned back to my miller's house
About nine o'clock at night,
But little did my miller know
What I had been about.

The miller turned around and about,
Said:" Johnny, what blooded your clothes?"
Me being so apt to take a hint:
By bleeding at the nose.

About nine or ten days after that,
Little Flora she was found
A-floating down by her father's house
Who lived in Knoxville town.


    How Long, How Long Blues



Leroy Carr

A traditional song which was a likely inspiration for The Train
Song.

How long, how long, has that evenin' train been gone?
How long, how long, baby how long.

Heard the whistle blowin', couldn't see the train
Way down in my heart I had an achin' pain.
How long, How long, how long.

If I could holler like a mountain jack
I'd go up on the mountain and call my baby back.

I went up on the mountain, looked as far as I could see
The man had my woman and the blues had poor me.

I can see the green grass growin' on the hill
But I ain't seen the green grass on a dollar bill.

I'm goin' down to Georgia, been up in Tennessee
So look me over baby, last you'll see of me.

The brook runs into the river, river runs into the sea
If I don't run into my baby, a train is goin' to run
into me.


    Mister Frog Went A-Courting



A traditional song which was a likely insiration for King Kong
Kittchee Ki-Mi-O.

Mister frog went a-courting and he did ride
Uh-hmm, Uh-hmm
Mister frog went a-courting and he did ride
A sword and pistol by his side
Uh-hmm, Uh-hmm.

He went down to Missy Mousie's door
Where he had often been before.

He said, "Missy Mouse, are you within?"
"Yes kind sir, I sit and spin."

He took Missy Mouse upon his knee
And said "Missy Mouse, will you marry me?"

"Without my Uncle Rat's consent"
"I wouldn't marry the pres-I-dent."

Uncle Rat laughed and shook his fat sides,
To think his niece would be a bride.

When Uncle Rat gave his consent
The weasel wrote the publishment.

Where will the wedding supper be?
Way down yonder in a holler tree.

What will the wedding supper be?
Two green beans and a black-eyed pea.

The first guest in was a bumblebee
He danced a jig with a crook-backed flea.

The owl did hoot, the birds they sang
And through the woods the music rang.

They all went sailing 'cross the lake
And got swallered up by a big black snake

There's bread and cheese upon the shelf
If you want any more you can sing it yourself.


    Banks of the Roses



A traditional song which was a likely inspiration for Where The
Wild Roses Grow. Nick's song is also available.

When I was a wee thing, I heard my mother say
That I was meant for rambling and would easy go astray
And before that I would work, I would rather sport and
play
With my Johnny on the banks of red roses

On the banks of red roses, my love and I sat down
He took out his tuning box to play his love a tune
In the middle of the tune, his love got up and cried
Oh Johnny, lovely Johnny, would you leave me?

So they walked and they talked until they came upon a
cave
Where the night before her darling had spent digging on
her grave
Aye, the night before her darling had spent digging on
her grave
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of red roses

Oh no, oh no, cried she, that grave's not meant for me
Yes, oh yes, my darling, that your bridal bed shall be
Yes, oh yes, my darling, that your bridal bed shall be
And he's made her to lie down on red roses

And all on his way homeward, his heart was filled with
fear
Every maid he came upon, he thought it was his dear
Yes, every maid he came upon, he thought it was his
dear
Who he made to lie down on red roses


    All The Pretty Little Horses



Traditional song that Nick used for the track he wrote on the
Current 93 album All The Pretty Little Horsies. Nick's version is
also available.

Hushaby, don' you cry
Go to sleepy little baby

When you awake you shall have cake
And all the pretty little horses.
Blacks and Bays, Dapples and Grays
Coach, and a six a little horses.

So hushaby, etc.

Way down yonda', down in the medder
There's a poor little lambie.
Bees an' the butterflies peckin' out his eyes
Poor lambie cried fo' his mammy.

But hushaby, etc.


    Stagalee



Three traditional versions of the song from Murder Ballads.
Nick's version is also available. Further details (and the actual
book Nick edited from) are also available.

Stagolee

Bad man Stagalee when he bad,
He bad wid a gun
Stagalee, Stagalee --- you must-a been a sinner
Ev'ry- Christmas eve they give Stagalee a dinner
Bad man Stagalee, when he bad
He bad wid a gun.

Don't you remember you remember
One dark stormy night
Stagalee and Bill O. Lion
Dey had dat noble fight.

Bill O. Lion tole Stagalee
Please don't take my life
I got three little children
And a dear lil' lovin'wife

Stagalee told Billy O. Lion
I don't care for your three lil' children
Or even your lovin' wife
You stole mah Stetson hat
And I'm goin to take yo'life

Stagalee pulled out his forty-four
It went boom boom boom
It wasn't long' fore Bill O. Lion
WVere layin'on de flo'

Stagalee's woman she went to her boss
Said, "Please give me some change.
Dey got my baby in de station house
An'mah business mus'be'ranged. "

Stagalee asked his woman
"How much change has you got?"
She run her han'in her stocking feet
And pulled out a hundred spot.
She had to get mo'money.

From Southern Folk Ballads, McNeill Collected from Vera
Hall, AL 1947

Stagolee

Stagolee was a bad man,
Ev'rybody knows.
Spent one hundred dollars
Just to buy him a suit of dothes.
He was a bad man
That mean old Stagolee

Stagolee shot Billy de Lyons
What do you think about that?
Shot him down in cold blood
Because he stole his Stetson hat;
He was a bad man
That mean old Stagolee

Billy de Lyons said, Stagolee
Please don't take my life
I've got two little babes
And a darling, loving wife;
You are a bad man
You mean old Stagolee.

What do I care about your two little babes,
Your darling loving wife?,
You done stole my Stetson hat
I'm bound to take your life;
He was a bad man,
That mean old Stagolee.

The judge said, Stagolee,
What you doing in here?,
You done shot Mr. Billy de Lyons,
You going to die in the electric chair;
He was a bad man
That mean old Stagolee.

Twelve o'clock they killed him
Head reached up high
Last thing that poor boy said,
"My six-shooter never lied."
He was a bad man,
That mean old Stagolee.

Stagolee

chorus: Stagolee, Stagolee, he's the meanest man in
town
When that boy starts gamblin', better lay your money
down
Down in New Orleans where they got that Lyon's Club
Every step you step you're steppin' in Billy de Lyon's
blood

I remember one September, on a cold and stormy night
Billy de Lyon and Stagolee, Lord, they had a great big
fight
Billy shot a seven, and Stack he said he'd pass
Stack said to Billy de Lyon, "Brother,
You done shot your last"

The woman asked the sheriff, said "How can this be?
You got all them bad men, but you can't get Stagolee"
Deputies took their badges and they laid them on the
shelf
"If you want to get that bad man, you get him by
yourself"

Now send for the policemen, a hundred thousand come
Loaded down with rifles and a great big Gatling gun
On Friday we condemned him, the judge he lowered his
head
On Saturday we hanged him, I was glad to see him dead


    Peace In the Valley



Erik wrote: "The theme is similar to the Nick's song New Morning.
Note also that the line 'There'll be no sadness, no sorrow' also
is in New Morning. Finally, the bright day versus black night
antithesis is also the same.

Well, I'm tired and so weary but I must go along,
Till the Lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh, yes,
And the mornin's so bright and the lamb is the light,
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh, yes.

CHORUS

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day,
There will be peace in the valley for me, dear Lord, I
pray.
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow, no trouble I see,
There will be peace in the valley for me.

The bear will be gentle and the wolf will be tame,
And the lion shall lie down with the lamb, that's what
it
says, And the beasts from the wild will be led by a
child,
And I will be changed, changed from this creature that
I am, oh, yes.

CHORUS


    Wade In The Water



Printed in J. Silverman, American History Songbook. Nick has sung
his version of this song live.

(Chorus)
Wade in the water.
Wade in the water, children.
Wade in the water.
God's gonna trouble the water.

Jordon's water is chilly and cold.
God's gonna trouble the water.
It chills the body, but not the soul.
God's gonna trouble the water.

If you get there before I do.
God's gonna trouble the water.
Tell all of my friends I'm coming too.
God's gonna trouble the water.


    Oh, Happy Day



Written by Edwin R. Hawkins
Nick has performed a version of this song live (combined with
Deanna). He also sung it on The Road to God Knows Where.

Oh happy day, oh happy day; When Jesus washed, oh when
He washed
When my Jesus washed, He washed my sins away; Oh happy
day.
He taught me how to walk, fight and pray, fight and
pray
And in rejoicing, in rejoicing every, every day, every
day.

Oh happy day, oh happy day; When my Jesus washed, oh
when He washed
When my Jesus washed all the sins away Oh happy day,
yeah.
You see He taught me how to watch, fight and pray fight
and pray
And in rejoicing, in rejoicing every day, every day

Oh happy, happy day, oh happy, happy day
Oh it felt so good when Jesus, when Jesus washed,
When my Jesus washed my sins away.


    Cindy



Words and music by Kaye - Weisman - Fuller

"The Bad Seeds performed Cindy regularly in their live sets in
1990,and indeed on a TV appearance as well. I have a version of
Elvis Presly doing this song, but I think it's a traditional,
also known as 'I Wish I Was An Apple', or as 'Sydney'. I think
The Bad Seeds often sang 'Come on home, Sydney Cindy' -Maurice

Wish I was an apple dangling from a tree
Every time you'd pass me by you'd take a bite of me
I wish I was a bluebird I'd never fly away
I'd sit up on your shoulder baby and sing to you all
day

Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home Cindy Cindy
Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home to me

I wrote it in a letter, carved it on a tree
Told it to a honeycomb, told it to a bee
Told them that I love you, they all know its true
Say it till the cows come home until it gets to you

Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home Cindy Cindy
Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home to me

Need you in the morning to start the coffee pot
Need you in the afternoon to fan me when I'm hot
Need you in the evening when supper time is through
What I'm really tryin' to say is I can't get enough of
you

Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home Cindy Cindy
Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home to me

If I were a musician I'd harp on just one thing
You should never play my harp the way you pluck a
string
If only you would love me say it and tell me so
I need two charms about me baby to have the whole world
know

Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home Cindy Cindy
Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home to me

Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home Cindy Cindy
Come on home Cindy Cindy, Come on home to me


    Love Henry



Words and Music by Bob Dylan (1993 Special Rider Music)

Original version of Henry Lee. Nick's version is also available.

"Get down, get down, Love Henry," she cried,
"And stay all night with me.
I have gold chains, and the finest I have
I'll apply them all to thee."

"I can't get down and I shan't get down,
Or stay all night with thee.
Some pretty little girl in Cornersville
I love far better than thee."

He laid his head on a pillow of down.
Kisses she gave him three.
With a penny knife that she held in her hand
She murdered mortal he.

"Get well, get well, Love Henry, " she cried,
"Get well, get well," said she.
"Oh don't you see my own heart's blood
Come flowin' down so free?"

She took him by his long yellow hair,
And also by his feet.
She plunged him into well water, where
It runs both cold and deep.

"Lie there, lie there, Love Henry," she cried,
"Til the flesh rots off your bones.
Some pretty little girl in Cornersville
Will mourn for your return."

"Hush up, hush up, my parrot," she cried,
"Don't tell no news on me,
Or these costly beads around my neck,
I'll apply them all to thee.

"Fly down, fly down, pretty parrot," she cried,
"And light on my right knee.
The doors to your cage shall be decked with gold
And hung on a willow tree."

"I won't fly down, I can't fly down
And light on your right knee.
A girl who would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me."


    Tupelo Blues



(John Lee Hooker 1959)

A song which was a likely inspiration for Tupelo. Nick's song
is also available.

Tupelo Blues - John Lee Hooker (3:23) (from the album The Country
Blues Of John Lee Hooker, Riverside 1959). Recorded several more
times, issued as Vee Jay single "Tupelo (Backwater Blues) / Dusty
Road", June 1960; also on 1962 Vee Jay album "The Folklore of
John Lee Hooker" as "Tupelo". Also issued a live recording from
Newport Folk Festival in the early 60s.

Did ya read about the flood?
Happened long time ago,
In Tupelo, Mississippi.
There were thousands o' lives,
Destroyed.

It rained, it rained,
Both night and day.
The poor people was worried.
Didn't have no place to go.
Could hear may people, cryin' "Lord!"
Have mercy!"
'Cause you're the only one,
That we can turn to"
Happened a long time ago.
A little town,
Way back in Mississippi,
In Tupelo

Hm-mm, Hm-mm, Hm-mm-mm,
Hm-mm, Hm-mm, Hm-mm-mm,
Hm- mm, Hm-mm-mm,
Hm-mm, Hm-mm, Hm-mm-mm,

There was women, and there was children,
They were screamin' an' cryin',
Cryin', "Lord, have mercy!
You're the only one now, that we can turn to."

Way back down in Mississippi, a little country town.
I know ya read about it,
'Cause I'll never forget it.
The mighty flood in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Been years ago.

Hm-mm, Hm-mm Hm-mm-mm,
Oh-hoh, Oh- hoh Oh-oh-oh
Hm-mm-mm
Oh-hmm, Lord, have mercy!
Wasn't that a mighty time? Tupelo's gone.


    I Rowed a Little Boat



John Lee Hooker - Vocal, Acoustic Guitar (Orpheum Music, 1959)

A traditional song similar to My Little Boat Is Empty. Nick's
song is also available.

You know I rowed a little boat,
five miles 'cross the pond
You know I rowed a little boat,
'bout five miles 'cross the pond
I throwed my things in the little boat,
it rolled me right along

It was thunderin' and lightenin',
but it rolled me right along
It was thunderin', it was lightenin',
Oh yeah, it rolled me right along
There were thousands of people,
they didn't have no place to go, mmm

Little children they were screamin'
and cryin', Oh yeah
The wind was howlin',
they didn't have no place to go, mmm
There were thousands o' people,
they's goin' from door to door, mmm

My little boat kept rollin',
it kept on rollin',
You know it rolled me right along
Mmm-mmm, Kept on rollin,
Kept on rollin' Kept on rollin'
Kept on rollin', Rollin'