I find it interesting that no one has read this as a love song to the Virgin Mary, who would most certainly have seduced someone's soul. As well, if Nick Cave is a "hostage of your child's world," that child would of course be Jesus. You could imagine that if her son can turn water into wine, surely an immaculately conceived tease like Mary could as well.
I had a friend who put this on a mixed tape a long time ago to a girl named Mary, but when I thought about it - maybe because I had just read "And The Ass Saw The Angel" &/or maybe because Nick Cave borrows Leonard Cohen's technique from "Joan Of Arc" (speaking the lyrics while also singing it - LC does it only in the first verse, Nick Cave does it throughout this song) which is another love song to a religious icon, I always saw this as an anguished love song to a spiritual figure that he cannot, will not possess.
@vchamberlain Need to edit my reply: That\'s a great reading of the lyrics (as a devotion to Mary) especially as the line after it (not present in this transcription) in brackets on the album sleeve lyrics is "And I don\'t know right from wrong" haha
@vchamberlain Need to edit my reply: That\'s a great reading of the lyrics (as a devotion to Mary) especially as the line after it (not present in this transcription) in brackets on the album sleeve lyrics is "And I don\'t know right from wrong" haha
I find it interesting that no one has read this as a love song to the Virgin Mary, who would most certainly have seduced someone's soul. As well, if Nick Cave is a "hostage of your child's world," that child would of course be Jesus. You could imagine that if her son can turn water into wine, surely an immaculately conceived tease like Mary could as well.
I had a friend who put this on a mixed tape a long time ago to a girl named Mary, but when I thought about it - maybe because I had just read "And The Ass Saw The Angel" &/or maybe because Nick Cave borrows Leonard Cohen's technique from "Joan Of Arc" (speaking the lyrics while also singing it - LC does it only in the first verse, Nick Cave does it throughout this song) which is another love song to a religious icon, I always saw this as an anguished love song to a spiritual figure that he cannot, will not possess.
That is how I've always heard it, anyway.
@vchamberlain that\'s a great reading of it, especially as the line after "seduced my sould" is "and I don\'t know right from wrong" haha.
@vchamberlain that\'s a great reading of it, especially as the line after "seduced my sould" is "and I don\'t know right from wrong" haha.
@vchamberlain Need to edit my reply: That\'s a great reading of the lyrics (as a devotion to Mary) especially as the line after it (not present in this transcription) in brackets on the album sleeve lyrics is "And I don\'t know right from wrong" haha
@vchamberlain Need to edit my reply: That\'s a great reading of the lyrics (as a devotion to Mary) especially as the line after it (not present in this transcription) in brackets on the album sleeve lyrics is "And I don\'t know right from wrong" haha