Never heard about the connections, but also haven't looked. I'll take some guessing stabs, since un-informed interpretation is more fresh, and Nick Cave's poetry is open enough to have a life of it's own in the mind of each listener.
Check snopes.com/glurge/milk.asp
for the origin of the term "milk of human kindness". I knew it was an allusion, but had to look it up myself.
The farmer does provide the serpent with milk... presumably cow milk. It seems that he is giving it something in captivity that it previously had 'outside' (or 'in' the barn, whatever the barn may represent).
dream-like imagery, hafta research it more, but I wanted to get some more thoughts to bat around.
Never heard about the connections, but also haven't looked. I'll take some guessing stabs, since un-informed interpretation is more fresh, and Nick Cave's poetry is open enough to have a life of it's own in the mind of each listener.
Check snopes.com/glurge/milk.asp for the origin of the term "milk of human kindness". I knew it was an allusion, but had to look it up myself.
The farmer does provide the serpent with milk... presumably cow milk. It seems that he is giving it something in captivity that it previously had 'outside' (or 'in' the barn, whatever the barn may represent).
dream-like imagery, hafta research it more, but I wanted to get some more thoughts to bat around.