This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Up those stone steps I climb
Hail this joyful day's return
Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn
The reading is from Luke 24
Where Christ returns to his loved ones
I look at the stone apostles
Think that it's alright for some
And I wish that I was made of stone
So that I would not have to see
A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe
A beauty impossible to endure
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup up to my lips
No God up in the sky
And no devil beneath the sea
Could do the job that you did, baby
Of bringing me to my knees
Outside I sit on the stone steps
With nothing much to do
Forlorn and exhausted, baby
By the absence of you
Hail this joyful day's return
Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn
The reading is from Luke 24
Where Christ returns to his loved ones
I look at the stone apostles
Think that it's alright for some
And I wish that I was made of stone
So that I would not have to see
A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe
A beauty impossible to endure
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup up to my lips
No God up in the sky
And no devil beneath the sea
Could do the job that you did, baby
Of bringing me to my knees
Outside I sit on the stone steps
With nothing much to do
Forlorn and exhausted, baby
By the absence of you
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
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Gentle Hour
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
It's a beautiful, fragile song; and although he's exhausted, the organ still rises and rises above the situation, elevating the singer as well. At least, that's what I feel ...
Here's what Nick has to say about it (in an interview with Jim Pascoe):
" ... But it's supposed to be where Christ, after the Resurrection, returns to his friends and shows himself to his disciples. I guess I was making a point in that song that some people have it lucky that people do return to them, and in my situation, it didn't seem like that was happening; in my ... in the relationship [PJ Harvey] that I'm talking about within that song it doesn't seem like that was going to happen."
The third verse is very likely a reference to The Hunchback of Notre Dame; The classic 1939 film version with Charles Laughton ends with Quasimodo leaning on one of Notre Dame's stone gargoyle statues, bitterly saying "Why was I not made of stone like thee?" while seeing the beautiful Esmeralda go off with somebody else.
The Brompton Oratory is a smallish Catholic church in central London. He goes in when it's Easter. He's saying it's the day when Jesus came back long ago, but baby isn't coming back, even though he can still smell her on his fingers. And the shift from the resurrection to the stone statues of the disciples is just masterful. A real tear-jerker.
@futatorius <br /> It reads 'pentecostal', so while Luke 24 is about Easter, that text might as well be read at a Pentecost mass. I think that the meaning of Pentecost may be closer to the meaning of the Song than that of Easter. I'm not an expert in this religious field. Any other opinions?
One of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' most beautiful & painful songs. The Brompton church is in London, he stops in hoping for some relief. He's also frustrated that he's so lonely from his recent breakup that he's turning to religious ritual. He describes an ethereal beauty in what the two shared in their relationship along with the beauty of Christ returning to his disciples (as recounted in Luke 24). Looking at the beauty in the church he wishes he could be made of stone (like the stone apostles gazing down) so that he wouldn't have to feel the pain and loneliness of the breakup. After the service he sits outside alone, exhausted by his former lover's absence.
this is my favourite nick cave and the bad seeds song. always makes me cry. its about someone who is so amazing that when their not there you cant bear it...
this is my favourite nick cave song too. In fact, one of my all-time favourites by anyone. I love it, and it makes me cry more often than any other song I can think of. It is very very beautiful.
"smallish"? It's pretty fucking big, one of the largest Catholic Churches in London.
At first listen, I had some trouble with this album. It's very sad and dark and mournful, but the stark, fragile beauty of the bare arrangements and Cave's stripped down poetry make it a very effective record. I can definitely see him wanting to kill his inner demons on this one. I think he's pretty much hopeless on this one: it's almost as if he's contemplating religion, the stone apostles, and Christ's return to his loved one, while being forced to acknowledge his loneliness and, perhaps, incapability to believe ("Think that it's alright for some")
I love this site. I hadn't really thought about the meaning of this song very deeply, and whilst checking out Nick Cave lyrics I thought I'd look at this. Cave's explanation (thanks the boatman) has made the whole song make sense. I love The Boatman's Call but I'd never thought much about this song. Now it's constantly in my head and there's something beautiful about how the quiet resignation of the lyrics compliment the fairly restrained music.
24 lines. Still perfection.