Lyric discussion by king-ink 

Cover art for Fable of the Brown Ape lyrics by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

There's been a lot of discussion about the meaning of this song. Nick has often said it's about Blixa, but the analogies aren't obvious at all. Some say Nick is the Ape and Blixa is Father Emmerich (which would make a lot of sense, since Blixa's real name is Emmerich). But others claim the contrary. And who's the cow and the serpent? Are they symbols for the Bad Seeds and EN? And the villagers? Fans? Why did the villagers chop the serpent open, and why did it contain "milk of human kindness"?

Just trying to get the ball running. Nick's music is usually rich in analogies, but this one is really undecipherable. I'd like to read your opinions.