Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Wild God Album Lyrics

On the shore of the lake
The old man sat and watched a woman bathing
With its golden touch, the light was such
That the moment was worth saving

And he sang the song of the lake
The song of the lake
And all the king's horses and
Oh, never mind, never mind

And he knew that he would dissolve
If he followed her into the lake
But he also knew that if he remained upon the shore
He would in time, evaporate

He sang the song of the lake
The song of the lake
And all the king's horses
Oh, never mind, never mind

And he knew that even though he had found heaven
Such as described in the ancient scrolls
Still he felt the drag of hell
Upon his old and mortal soul

And he sang the song of the lake
And all the king's horses
Oh Lord, never mind, never mind

For every evil under the sun
If there be one
Seek it till you find
For there's either a remedy or there is none
And if there is none
Never mind, never mind
Never mind, never mind
Nah, never mind
Never mind

Oh, never mind, never mind, never mind
'Cause all the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put us back together again
Oh, my darling, well, where will we go now?
Oh, my darling, where do we go?
Ah, never mind, never mind
And what do we do now?
Oh, never mind, never mind
Well, oh, my sweet darling, never mind

Once upon a time a wild god zoomed
All through his memory, in which he was entombed
It was rape and pillage, in the retirement village
But in his mind, he was a man of great virtue and courage

And he flew out the window with his long trailing hair
And the smoke from the bodies went straight up in the air
He was a wild god searching, for what all wild god's are searching for
And he flew through the dying city like a prehistoric bird

He went searching for the girl
Down on a Jubilee Street
But she died in a bedsit in 1993
So he flew to the top of the world and looked around
And said, "Where are my people?"
Where are my people?
To bring your spirit down

A wild god searching for a far away girl
Who was basically a mirage, that nevertheless loomed a-large
She would hang under the rail as he blew around the room
And make love with a kind of efficient gloom

And the people on the ground cried "When does it start?"
And the wild god says "It starts with a heart"
With a heart, with a heart, with a heart
And the people on the ground cried "When does it end?"
And the wild god says "Well, it depends, but it mostly never ends"

'Cause I'm a wild god flying, and wild god a-swimming
And I'm old sick god dying, and crying
And singing

(Bring your spirit down)
Oh, wild god's begging, the wild god's
Yeah, bring your spirit down
Oh, well he's moving through the flames of anarchy
And he's moving through the winds of tyranny
And the sweet, sweet tears of liberty
And moving 'round the world
He's moving through your body like a prehistoric bird
He's moving 'round the world
Oh Lord
Well, if you're feeling lonely, and if you're feeling blue
And if you just don't know what to do
Bring your spirit down

Oh, we're wild god's baby, we're wild gods
I'm a wild god, baby, I'm a wild god

Oh, here we go
We're to the cradle of Africa
We're going to Russia
We're going to China
To the United States of America

Yeah, moving 'round the world
Yeah, moving like a great big beautiful bird
Moving 'round the world
Yeah, he-he's swimming to the end of a rotting pier
He swims to the end of his rotting ideas
Swim to the hymn, swim to the prayer
And bring your spirit down

I'm a wild god, baby, I'm a wild god
Well, here we go
Yeah, here we go

Ushering in the week he knelt down
Crushed his brother's head in with a bone
It's my great privilege
Oh, babe, to walk you home

In the Sunday rain
Hop inside my coat
In the Sunday rain
The frogs are jumping in the gutters
Oh, leaping to God, amazed of love
And amazed of pain
Amazed to be back in the water again
In the Sunday rain
In the Sunday rain
Gets you right down to your soul

Oh Lord, oh Lord
The children in the heavens
Jumping for joy, jumping for love
And opening the sky above
So, take that gun out of your hand
'Cause, "All will be well," say the bells
It's Sunday morning and I'm holding your hand

Amazed of love and amazed of pain
Amazed to be back in the water
Back in the water again
Take that gun out of your hand
In the Sunday rain
Frogmarching you home, babe
Home to bed, yeah, in the Sunday rain
Take that gun out of your hand
Lord, kill me
In the Sunday rain
Kill me, kill me
In the Sunday rain

Hop inside my coat
It's Sunday morning and I'm holding your hand
Frogmarching us home to a bed made of tears
Kris Kristofferson walks by, kicking a can
In a shirt he hasn't washed for years
Hop inside my coat
Hop inside my coat

I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head
I woke up this morning with the blues all around my head
I felt like someone in my family was dead

I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees
I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees
Call out all around me, said, "Have mercy on me, please
Have mercy on me, please"

Then over by the window, the voice came low and hollow
Over by the window a voice came low and hollow
Spoke into my pain, into my yearning sorrow
Spoke into my pain

Who was it? I cried
What wild ghost has come in agitation?
Who is it? I cried
What wild ghost has come in agitation?
It's half past midnight
Oh, why you disturb me so late?

Then I saw a movement
Then I saw a movement around
Then I saw a movement around my narrow bed
I saw a movement around my narrow bed
Oh, a ghost in giant sneakers, laughing stars around his head
Have mercy on me

Sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy
Who sat on a narrow bed, this flaming boy
Said, "We've all had too much sorrow
Now is the time for joy"

And all across the world they shout bad words
They shout angry words
All across the world they shout out their angry words
About the end of love

Yet the stars stand above the earth
Bright, triumphant metaphors of love
Bright, triumphant metaphors of love
Blind us all who care to stand and look beyond it
Care to stand and look beyond, above

And I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees
I jumped up like a rabbit and fell down to my knees
I called all around me, said, "Have mercy on me, please"
Have mercy on me, please
Have mercy on me, please
God have mercy on me, please

For joy, for joy, for joy, for joy
For joy, for joy, joy, joy
For joy, for joy, for joy
For joy, for joy, for joy
Oh, for joy

Oh, have mercy on me, please
Oh, joy
Oh, joy
Oh, joy

The last time you came around here
It was to rescue me
You arrived just in time with your customary flair
You'd rode through the rain all the way from Castellain
With the wind and the wind, oh, the wind, oh, the wind in your hair

After that, nothing ever really hurt again
Nothing ever really hurt
Not even ordinary pain
As we'd sit, you and me, by the great aching sea
In the rain, in the rain and the rain, oh, the rain, oh, the rain

And I will always love you
With the wind, with the wind, with the wind, oh, the wind in your hair

Oh, who are these gods that you now defend?
And what purpose do they serve now at the end of time?
That we lay on our beds, with the rain on our heads
And my hand searching for your hand
Searching for my hand
Searching for your hand
Searching for mine

And I will always love you
And I will always, oh, love you
And I will always, I will always love you
And I will always love you

There was a little place in a pretty row
Where we mostly did not go
And next to the place, in a field of trees
Were stones stacked on stones for ten centuries

At one time in the field in the middle of the night
An old god shambled beneath the sodium light
The whole town gathered at the fence
With looks on their faces worse than grief itself

Now then, a girl across the street with long dark hair
Knelt among the stones and the mystical flare
And the old god drew her into him like a flame
I've never seen you so beautiful as that again

Oh, you're touched by the spirit, touched by the flame, oh
Oh, touched by the spirit, touched by the flame, oh
(Touch my spirit, touch my spirit, my spirit, touch my spirit)
Oh, touched by the spirit, touched by the flame, oh

I never really ever saw you so beautiful as that again
I was touched by the spirit and touched by the flame
I never, ever really ever saw you so beautiful again
Well, not again, oh, not again

And these voices, they never ever stopped again
They never stopped again
Oh, when touched by the flame

Yeah, I never really ever hurt again
Oh, hurt again, not even ordinary pain
Not even ordinary pain

Oh, I never ever really ever, ever, ever hurt again
No, not hurt again
Oh, not hurt again

Oh, you're beautiful
You're beautiful again
You're beautiful, you're beautiful
You're beautiful, you're beautiful
Stop, stop, stop, stop

You're beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful again, again
Oh, touched by the flame

I told my friends that life was sweet
I told my friends that life was very sweet
And the cinnamon horses in the turpentine trees

I told my friends some things were good
That love would endure if it could
And the cinnamon horses stroll through the castle ruins

I said we can't love someone
Without hurting someone
And a dozen white vampires
Under a strawberry moon

You said that, you said that
You said that, oh
You said that, you said that
The strawberry moon

'Cause love asks for nothing
But love costs everything
And the cinnamon horses dance beneath a strawberry moon

And I said we should not hurt one another
Still we hurt one another
And a dozen white vampires
Sun themselves in the castle ruins

You said that, you said that
You said that, oh
You said that, you said that
You said that, oh

I told my friends that life was sweet
I told my friends life was very sweet

You said that, you said that
In the castle ruins

I told my friends that life was good
That love would endure if it could

You said that, you said that
You said that, oh
You said that, you said that
You said that, oh

You said that, you said that
You said that, oh
You said that, you said that
You said that, oh

I was long inside a dream, I could not get loose
I will tell you of it, although there is little use
To tell a dream, when dreaming is all you ever do
But things were not so good, I can't make light of it
My poor soul, it was having a dark night of it
It was a long night, a week, maybe a year

Maybe a long dark night is coming down
Maybe a long dark night is coming down

Through the door of my dream burst
No zombie, no ogre, no devil there
But a flying man with long trailing hair
Who perched upon the iron rail of my bed
Oh Lord, combing his long white hair and saying my name
How could he know, when I did not even know my name

Maybe a long dark night is coming down
Maybe a long dark night, my precious one
Maybe a long dark night is rolling around my eyes
Oh Lord

The man who took me to be from elsewhere
When I too inhabited the earthly sphere lent down and struck me
With his long trailing hair

Maybe a long dark night is coming down
Maybe a long dark night, my precious one
Maybe a long dark night is rolling around my head
Oh Lord

She rises in advance of her panties
I can confirm that god actually exists
She turns and smiles but never ever scantily
Oh, wow, oh, wow, how wonderful she is

Well, the horses, they have kicked down the stable
And the rabbits have put carrots in their ears
And her colored crayons dance upon the table
Oh, wow, oh, wow, how wonderful she feels

The country doctor whistles across the meadow
And the schoolboy, he hops up and says, gee whiz
The dogs, they are all barking at their shadows
Oh, wow, oh, wow, how wonderful she is
Oh, wow, oh, wow, well, nothing could compare

Her friends, now dead, their spectral chins all nod
And they braid a band of violets through her hair
Oh, wow, oh, wow, how wonderful she was
How wonderful she is

Do you remember we used to really, really have fun?
We'd be just by ourselves, mucking around
Really relaxed, not under pressure
I guess that's how we make up songs
I, I remember we were in bed and then we imagined somebody upstairs
I don't even know if we heard footsteps
Or imagined footsteps and then imagined the story

That was in that little place opposite Brixton Prison
I didn't even realize that everyone wasn't like that
We tried to write a contract of love
But we only got as far as doing the border
There was never any words in it
Which I thought said a lot more than anything else

She sits at the window
Her hands folded in her sleeping lap
As He steps from the tomb
In His rags and His wounds
Into the yellow light that streams
Through the window, He brings

Peace and good tidings to the land
Peace and good tidings to the land
And as the waters cover the sea
And as You wake and turn to me
Peace and good tidings He will bring
Good tidings to all things