I have learned to not over-engineer Nick Caves songs and to trust his modesty when he presents it. Part of the pantheon of roots music is often torturous loony tunes like Stalin or ST. Paul but the Search For Nick Cave is accurate. Some songs just sound good. The words just go together. The meaning is in the lack of meaning. A dead horse abandoned by his owner is powerful and emotional without a story. I think the names of the dwarves is insignificant aside from the fact that they're paired together because most names in the 19th century and for a short time thereafter have bibical origin. There's a lot of meaning to be taken from the song but remember everything is a metaphor if you let it be.
I have learned to not over-engineer Nick Caves songs and to trust his modesty when he presents it. Part of the pantheon of roots music is often torturous loony tunes like Stalin or ST. Paul but the Search For Nick Cave is accurate. Some songs just sound good. The words just go together. The meaning is in the lack of meaning. A dead horse abandoned by his owner is powerful and emotional without a story. I think the names of the dwarves is insignificant aside from the fact that they're paired together because most names in the 19th century and for a short time thereafter have bibical origin. There's a lot of meaning to be taken from the song but remember everything is a metaphor if you let it be.