* The First Born Is Dead. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. *
The Bad Seeds are: Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld and Barry Adamson.
1. Tupelo (Cave/Harvey/Adamson)
2. Say Goodbye To The Little Girl Tree (Cave/Harvey)
3. Train Long-Suffering (Cave)
4. Black Crow King (Cave/Bargeld)
5. Knockin' On Joe (Cave)
6. Wanted Man (Bob Dylan) %
7. Blind Lemon Jefferson (Cave/Adamson/Bargeld/Harvey)
8. The Six Strings That Drew Blood (Cave)
9. Tupelo (Single version)
Looka yonder! Looka yonder!
Looka yonder! A big black cloud come!
O comes to Tupelo. Comes to Tupelo.
Yonder on the horizon.
Stopped at the mighty river and
Sucked the damn thing dry.
Tupelo-o-o, O Tupelo.
In a valley hides a town called Tupelo.
Distant thunder rumble. Rumble hungry like the Beast.
The Beast it cometh. Cometh down. Wo wo wo-o-o.
Tupelo bound. Tupelo-o-o. Yeah Tupelo.
The Beast it cometh. Tupelo bound.
Why the hen won't lay no egg.
Cain't get that cock to crow.
The nag is spooked and crazy.
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!
Ya can say these streets are rivers.
Ya can call these rivers streets.
Ya can tell ya self ya dreaming buddy.
But no sleep runs this deep.
No! No sleep runs this deep.
Women at their windows
Rain crashing on the pane
Writing in the frost
Tupelos' shame. Tupelo's shame.
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!
O go to sleep lil children
The sandmans on his way.
O go to sleep lil children.
The sandmans in his way.
But the lil children know
They listen to the beating of their blood.
They listen to the beating of their blood.
The sandman's mud!
The sandman's mud!
And the black rain come down.
Water water everywhere.
Where no bird can fly no fish can swim.
No fish can swim
Until The King is born!
Until The King is born!
In Tupelo! Tupelo-o-o!
Til The King is born in Tupelo!
In a clap-board shack with a roof of tin.
Where the rain came down and leaked within.
A young mother frozen on a concrete floor.
With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw.
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo!
With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw.
Well Saturday gives what Sunday steals.
And a child is born on his brothers heels.
Come Sunday morn the first-born dead.
In a shoebox tied with a ribbon of red.
Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo!
In a shoebox tied with a ribbon of red.
O ma-ma rock you lil one slow.
O ma-ma rock your baby.
O ma-ma rock your lil one slow.
O God help Tupelo! O God help Tupelo!
Mama rock your lil one slow.
The lil one will walk on Tupelo.
Tupelo-o-o! Yeah Tupelo!
And carry the burden of Tupelo.
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo! Yeah!
The King will walk on Tupelo!
Tupelo-o-o! O Tupelo!
He carried the burden outa Tupelo!
Tupelo-o-o! Hey Tupelo!
You will reap just what you sow.
Say Goodbye To The Little Girl Tree
O say goodbye to the little girl tree.
O you know that I must say goodbye
To the little girl tree.
This wall I built around you
Is made out of stone-lies.
O little girl the truth would be
An axe in thee.
O father look to your daughter
Brick of grief and stricken morter.
With this ring
This silver hoop of wire
I bind your maiden mainstream
Just to keep you as a child.
O say goodbye to the little girl tree.
O you know that I must say goodbye
To my little girl tree.
How fast your candy bones
Reached out for me.
I must say goodbye to your brittle bones
Crying out for me.
O you know that I must say goodbye.
O goodbye.
Even though you will betray me
The very minute that I leave.
O say goodbye to the little girl tree.
O Lord you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree.
I rise up her girl-child lumps and slipping knots
Into her laden boughs
And amongst her roping limbs
Like a swollen neck vein branching
Into smaller lesser veins
That must all just sing and say goodbye
And let her blossom veils fly.
Her velvet gown.
Down down down.
Down down down.
Down down down and goodbye.
For you know that I must say goodbye.
To a rhythm softly tortured
Of a motion back and forth.
Thats a rhythm sweetly tortured
O thats the rhythm of the orchard.
And you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree.
O goodbye.
Yes goodbye.
For you know that I must die.
Down down down.
Down down down.
Down down down and goodbye.
For you know that I must die.
Yes you know that I must die.
O-o you know that I must die.
Woo-wooooooo Woo!
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
There comes a train!
(There comes a train)
Yeah!
A long black train
(There comes a train)
Lord, a long black train.
Woo-woo! Woo-woo!
Punched from the tunnel
(The tunnel of love is long and lonely)
Engines steaming like a fist
(A fistful of memories)
Into the jolly jaw of morning
(Yeah! O yeah!)
O baby it gets smashed!
(You know that it gets smashed)
I kick every goddamn splinter
Into all the looking eyes in the world
Into all the laughing eyes
Of all the girls in the world
Oooooo-woooooh
She ain't never comin back.
She ain't never comin back.
She ain't never comin back.
She ain't never comin back.
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
The name of the pain is
A train long-suffering
On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
There comes a train
(There comes a train long-suffering)
On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
O baby blow its whistle in the rain.
Woo-oo Woo! Woo-oo Woo!
Who's the engine driver?
(The engine drivers over yonder)
His name is Memory
(Memory is his name)
O Memory is his name
(Woooooo-wo!)
Destination: Misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
Hey! Hey!
(Pain and misery)
Hey! That's a sad lookin sack!
Oooh that's a sad lookin sack!
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
Ooh the name of the pain is
A train long-suffering
There is a train!
(It's got a name)
Yeah! It's a train long-suffering
O Lord a train!
(A long black train)
Lord! Of pain and suffering
Each night so black
(O yeah! So black)
And in the darkness of my sack
I'm missing you baby
(I'm missing you)
And I just dunno what to do
(dunno what to do)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
Train long-suffering
Train long-suffering
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
O she ain't never comin back
And the name of the pain is...
And the name of the pain is...
The name of the train is...
The name of the train is
Pain and suffering.
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Keeper of the nodding corn
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
All the hammers are a-talking
All the nails are a-singing
So sweet and low.
You can hear it in the valley
Where live the lame and the blind
They climb the hill out of its belly
They leave with mean black boots on.
"I just made a simple gesture
They jumped up and nailed it to my shadow
My gesture was a hooker
You know, my shadow's made of timber."
And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me.
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
Ah'm still here rolling and I'm left on my own
The blackbirds have all flown!
Everyone's rolled on!
I am the black crow king
Keeper of the trodden corn
I am the black crow king
Won't say it again
And the rain it raineth daily.
Lord
And wash away my clothes
I surrender up my arms
To a company of crows
I am the black crow king
I won't say it again
And all the thorns are a-crowning
King ruby on each spine
And the spears are a-sailing
O my o my.
And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me.
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
And I'm still here rolling after everybody's gone
I'm still here rolling and left on my own
Those blackbirds they have all flown and
I am on my own.
I am the black crow king
Keeper of the forgotten corn
The King! The King!
I'm the king of nuthin' at all
The hammers are a-talking
The nails are a-singing
The thorns are a-crowning him
The spears are a-sailing
The crows are a-mocking
The corn is a-nodding
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling
Down on me
Rolling down on me
Rolling down on me.
These chains of sorrow, they are heavy, it is true
And these locks cannot be broken,
no, not with one thousand keys
O Jailer, you wear a ball-n-chain you cannot see
You can lay your burden on me
You can lay your burden down on me
You can lay your burden down upon me
But you cannot lay down those memories.
Woooo wooo wooo
Woooo wooo wooo
Here I go!
Knockin on Joe!
This square foot of sky will be mine til I die
Knocking on Joe
Woooo wooo wooo
All down the row.
Knockin on Joe.
O Warden I surrender you
Your fists cain't hurt me anymore
You know, these hands will never wash
These dirty Death Row floors
O Preacher, come closer, you don't scare me anymore
Just tell Nancy not to come here
Just tell her not to come here anymore
Tell Nancy not to come
And let me die in the memory of her arms.
O woo woo woo
Woo woo woo
All down the row.
Knockin on Joe.
O you kings of halls and ends of halls
You will die within these walls
And I'll go, all down the row
Knockin on Joe.
O Nancy's body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
O Nancy's body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
She wears her body like a coffin
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of red and gold
Grave-looters at my coffin
before my bodies even cold.
It's a door for when I go
Knockin on Joe
These hands will never mop
your dirty Death Row floors
No! You can hide! You can run!
O but your trial is yet to come
O you can run! You can hide!
But you have yet to be tried!
You can lay your burden down here
You can lay your burden down here
Knockin on Joe
You can lay your burden upon me
You can lay your burden down upon me
Knockin on Joe
You cain't hurt me anymore
Knockin on Joe.
(ad lib)
Bline Lemon Jefferson is a-coming.
Tap tap tappin with his cane.
Bline Lemon Jefferson is a-coming.
Tap tap tappin with his cane.
His last ditch lies down the road of trials
Half filled with rain.
O Sycamore, Sycamore!
Stretch your arms across the storm.
Down fly two greasy brother-crows
They hop'n'bop hop'n'bop hop'n'bop
Like the tax-man come to call.
They go knock knock! Knock knock!
Hop'n'bop hop'n'bop
They slap a death-writ on his door.
Here come the Judgement train
Git on board!
And turn that big black engine home.
O let's roll!
Let's roll!
Down the tunnel.
The terrible tunnel of his world.
Waiting at his final station
Like a bigger blacker third bird.
O let's roll!
Let's roll!
O his road is dark and lonely.
He don't drive no Cadillac.
O his road is dark and holy.
He don't drive no cadillac.
If that sky serves as his eyes
Then that moons a cataract.
Let's roll!
Yeah let's roll!
(Ad lib)
The Six Strings That Drew Blood
Guitar thug blew into town.
His eyes like wheels spinnin' round.
Jerkin-off at every sound.
Layin' all his crosses down.
O yeah.
He got Six Strings.
The Six Strings that drew blood.
The bar is full of Holy-Joes.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Around the neck of our consumptive rose
is the root of all his sorrows.
O yeah.
He got Six Strings.
Six Strings that drew blood.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Six Strings that drew blood.
In the bathroom under cover.
He turns on one tap to discover.
He's smashed his teeth out on the other.
Well he look in the mirror and say
don't fuck me brother.
Cause I got Six Strings.
Six Strings that drew blood.
Numbin' the runt of reputation they call rat fame.
Top-E as a tourniquet.
A low tune whistles across his grave.
Forever the master and the slave of his Six Strings.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Six Strings that drew blood.
Last-modified: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 19:44:30 GMT