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King Ink Lyrics
King Ink strolls into town
he sniffs around
King Ink kicks off his stink-boot
sand and soot and dust and dirt and
he's much bigger than you think
King Ink
King Ink, wake up, get up
Wake up, up, up, up, up, up
A bug crawls up the wall
King Ink feels like a bug
and he hates his rotten shell
Cha-cha-{10 cha's)
King Ink, get up, go forth
wake up-what's in that room
wake up- what's in that house?
Express thyself say something loudly
AAAAHHHH! What's in that room?
Sand and soot and dust and dirt
dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt
King Ink feels like a bug
swimming in a soup-bowl
Oh yer! Yer! What a wonderful life
Fats Domino on the radio
he sniffs around
sand and soot and dust and dirt and
he's much bigger than you think
King Ink
King Ink, wake up, get up
Wake up, up, up, up, up, up
A bug crawls up the wall
King Ink feels like a bug
and he hates his rotten shell
Cha-cha-{10 cha's)
King Ink, get up, go forth
wake up-what's in that room
wake up- what's in that house?
Express thyself say something loudly
AAAAHHHH! What's in that room?
Sand and soot and dust and dirt
dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt dirt
King Ink feels like a bug
swimming in a soup-bowl
Oh yer! Yer! What a wonderful life
Fats Domino on the radio
Song Info
Submitted by
tiger_angel On Sep 11, 2002
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genius...very imaginative and abstract, a lot of imagery comes to mind. Never heard anything quite like it.
i don't think it's intentional but it makes me think of metamorphisis. like he's a bug but hates himself for it. and the fats domino bit at the end then reminds me of the claustrophobic horror of Eraserhead.
This is a song about the creative process, beating yourself up to create, how you have to plunge into the depths of self (where it's not always pretty) to bring real emotion & creativity to the top. "Express thyself! Express thyself! Say something! Say something!" is the key phrase in the song - that & the fact that being unable to express oneself sometimes leads to self-loathing.
Nick Cave entitled the collection of Birthday Party lyrics "King Ink," a clue that the song is about writing, but I've thought of this song in all contexts where I am needing to be creative but am fresh out of ideas.
& now it occurs to me that maybe "King Ink" is an entity - a trickster god or a demon - that haunts you, possesses you when you create.
that could be true chamberlain. I've heard Nick Cave name check Lorca's essay on duende. Duende is sometimes described as the demon of tragic art. Well, it's a bit more complex than that but that's the basic idea. It's also what he admits he tries to embody his songs with.
that could be true chamberlain. I've heard Nick Cave name check Lorca's essay on duende. Duende is sometimes described as the demon of tragic art. Well, it's a bit more complex than that but that's the basic idea. It's also what he admits he tries to embody his songs with.
my only wonder is would nick have read it before this song was written? he was quite young.
my only wonder is would nick have read it before this song was written? he was quite young.
When Nick and Rowland heard this song for the first time after recoding, they both thought is was something they hadnt heard before. True story bro.