According to the info over at the Nick Cave Collector's Hell site, at a 1997 London gig, Nick changed the last line to: "and meows, `He loves you, Polly Jean'".
Anyway, I've been reading PJ Harvey's biography 'Siren Rising', and she mentions getting "palpitations" before going on stage to perform. So I think that Nick's line: 'that I have embraced, her palpitations' refers to this - him embracing her/providing comfort/soothing her nerves before the beginning of her show.
According to the info over at the Nick Cave Collector's Hell site, at a 1997 London gig, Nick changed the last line to: "and meows, `He loves you, Polly Jean'".
Anyway, I've been reading PJ Harvey's biography 'Siren Rising', and she mentions getting "palpitations" before going on stage to perform. So I think that Nick's line: 'that I have embraced, her palpitations' refers to this - him embracing her/providing comfort/soothing her nerves before the beginning of her show.