Murder Ballads
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Murder Ballads is an album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in 1996 on Mute Records. As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditional murder ballads, a genre of songs that relays the details (and often consequences) of crimes of passion.
"Where the Wild Roses Grow", where Cave sings duet with Kylie Minogue, was a huge hit. Other prominent guest musicians on the album includes PJ Harvey and Shane MacGowan.
Track listing
Tracks written by Nick Cave, except where noted.
- "Song of Joy" - [06:47]
- "Stagger Lee" (words: traditional / Cave, music: Bargeld / Casey / Cave / Harvey / Savage / Sclavunos / Wydler) - [05:15]
- "Henry Lee" (words: traditional / Cave, music: Cave) - [03:58]
- "Lovely Creature" (words: Cave, music: Bargeld / Casey / Cave / Harvey / Wydler) - [04:13]
- "Where the Wild Roses Grow" - [03:57]
- "The Curse of Millhaven" - [06:55]
- "The Kindness of Strangers" - [04:39]
- "Crow Jane" - [04:14]
- "O'Malley's Bar" - [14:28]
- "Death is Not the End" (Dylan) - [04:26]
Songs
"Song of Joy" is a story of a man who (it is implied) murders his wife Joy and their three children, Hilda, Hattie and Holly. In his biography (Bad Seed, Ian Johnston), which only goes up to the album Let Love In (which precedes this album directly), it is mentioned that he was working on a new song called "Red Right Hand II", involving a man killing his three children. This may be the same song in a finished form, and, indeed, the lyrics mention "in my house he wrote his red right hand, which I'm told is from Paradise Lost".
"Stagger Lee" is based on a traditional song about a person of the same name (or similar): Stagger Lee. However, Cave adds a homoerotic twist at the end. This is sometimes considered one of Cave's best tracks, along with other like God is in the House and The Mercy Seat and is often featured in his live performances.
"Henry Lee" is also based on a traditional song (or two), often referred to as Young Hunting. It tells of a woman who kills a man because he did not sleep with her. It is a duet with Polly Jean Harvey (PJ Harvey), a British singer who was in a relationship with Nick Cave for a time.
"Lovely Creature" tells an abstract tale of a girl with green gloves and a ribbon in her hair who the protagonist asks to take for a walk, arriving home without her.
"Where the Wild Roses Grow" was a very popular duet with Kylie Minogue. Nick says the traditional song "The Willow Garden" was the song that inspired him to write "Where The Wild Roses Grow". It's a classic tale of a man befriending a woman, having his way and killing her.
"The Curse of Millhaven" is a song of a mad girl called Loretta whose "eyes are green" and "hair is yellow", or possibly "the other way around". She describes the deaths of townsfolk, pointing out how "all God's creatures, they've all got to die". It is then revealed, in the failed stabbing of Mrs. Colgate, that Lottie is in fact the killer. "Curse" uses the fictional town of Millhaven, created by Peter Straub and came out on paper in his books regarding "The Blue Rose Murders". In particular, the novel The Throat has been recommended by Nick.
"The Kindness of Strangers", the title of which is presumably a play on the early Bad Seeds song "Stranger than Kindess", centers around a young girl who travels to the ocean. On the way she meets Richard Slade, but tells him to leave once she has a room. She finds herself lonely and unlocks her door, only to be killed by Slade.
"Crow Jane", based on Jane Crowley from Nick Cave's first novel And The Ass Saw The Angel, is the tale of a girl who looks like a bird, full of hate. After stewing in her hatred she buys a gun or two and kills 20 miners in the "New Town".
"O'Malleys Bar" is a long song about a man who goes into a bar and kills his fellow townsfolk. He feels elated and sexually aroused by this killing, but is caught by the police. In the car, moving away from the bar, he begins counting those he killed on his fingers.
"Death Is Not The End" is a song featuring several vocalists, such as Anita Lane, Shane McGowan, Blixa Bargeld and others. They each sing a verse in this cover of a Bob Dylan song, the only song in which an actual death does not occur.