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Bellringer Blues Lyrics
I saw my old friend Gabriel
Down the perimeter ringing a bell
I said hello
Hey man is there something wrong?
Where has everybody gone?
I don't know
Well I put my hand across my mouth
And I went out
Yeah moving slow
What are you doing he said to me
I'm looking for my company
He said don't bother no
Next thing you know when I took a look
Gabe was trying to sell me a book
But I got no dough
He said check it out It's going cheap
Check it out it's going cheap
Ok I'll give it a go
Well I read that book every page
And then i put it away
Said I don't think so
It makes slaves of all of womankind
And corpses of men
And I just don't know
And we care a little bit
We get scared a little bit
Of those two cold dead eyes
That stare a little bit
And we cry a little bit
And we get by a little bit
Let your tears
All come falling down
Put me on a big white steed!
Ride it up and down your street!
Wrapped in a crimson coat!
Sail me in a green big boat!
I'll sail around the waters for you
Kill your sons and daughters for you!
Put me on a big white horse!
Send me down to Banbury Cross!
It's ok Joe its time to go
Down the perimeter ringing a bell
I said hello
Hey man is there something wrong?
Where has everybody gone?
I don't know
Well I put my hand across my mouth
And I went out
Yeah moving slow
What are you doing he said to me
I'm looking for my company
He said don't bother no
Gabe was trying to sell me a book
But I got no dough
He said check it out It's going cheap
Check it out it's going cheap
Ok I'll give it a go
Well I read that book every page
And then i put it away
Said I don't think so
And corpses of men
And I just don't know
And we care a little bit
We get scared a little bit
Of those two cold dead eyes
That stare a little bit
And we cry a little bit
And we get by a little bit
Let your tears
All come falling down
Ride it up and down your street!
Wrapped in a crimson coat!
Sail me in a green big boat!
I'll sail around the waters for you
Kill your sons and daughters for you!
Put me on a big white horse!
Send me down to Banbury Cross!
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Another somewhat more specific than usual post-apocalyptic setting, as in "Abbatoir Blues" and "Evil"...could (and is the distinction academic) the "book" be the Koran? Is it the zietgeist, my imagination, or has there been a more tangible sense of worldwide, prophetic doom, compared with earlier, more individual presentations of damnation? Of course, the balance may simply shift between the two poles, but does it seem to others that there is a more pronounced image of a holy war? (forgive the rambling...)
I agree with you. The Koran - as the bible, BTW - diminish the women as servants to men, and Nick Cave is very specific at "It makes slaves of all of womankind".
I agree with you. The Koran - as the bible, BTW - diminish the women as servants to men, and Nick Cave is very specific at "It makes slaves of all of womankind".
I figured that the book referenced was the Book of Revelations because of the "white horse" in later lines. The first of the four horsemen, Pestilence, rides a white horse according to Revelations and is the first seal, a harbinger of the oncoming apocalypse. Angels, such as Gabriel, are also said to herald the coming of end which is what I interpreted the bell ringing as.
So the book is obviously the Bible. Good on Nick, I hate the Bible too. :)
the book is almost certainly the Koran, as Gabe (the angel Gabriel) was trying to sell it to him and according to Islam Gabriel was the one who spoke the verses of the Koran to Muhammad
the book is almost certainly the Koran, as Gabe (the angel Gabriel) was trying to sell it to him and according to Islam Gabriel was the one who spoke the verses of the Koran to Muhammad
Could be both in my view. In all three books it is possible to find anti-women views quite easily.
Could be both in my view. In all three books it is possible to find anti-women views quite easily.
This song is not about the Bible. Nick Cave loves the Bible and has stated in interviews that he reads it to his kids. The old testament inspired most of his more violent songs, and the new testament inspired the rest. He even wrote an introduction to the Gospel According to Mark recently, which you can read on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Pocket-Canons-ebook/dp/B004E9TOBE/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1356127933&sr=8-1
This song is not about the Bible. Nick Cave loves the Bible and has stated in interviews that he reads it to his kids. The old testament inspired most of his more violent songs, and the new testament inspired the rest. He even wrote an introduction to the Gospel According to Mark recently, which you can read on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Pocket-Canons-ebook/dp/B004E9TOBE/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1356127933&sr=8-1
He doesn't hate the Bible--he hates how organised religion and the church perceive Christ's words etc. He believes that Christ...
He doesn't hate the Bible--he hates how organised religion and the church perceive Christ's words etc. He believes that Christ had a huge imagination, and that everyone else, the church included, suffers from "a lack of imagination", and that this is a crime. I'm just paraphrasing from a bunch of his interviews here.