Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds ? Murder Ballads Album Chords ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Song of Joy (Cave) --------------------- Gm Have mercy on me, sir Allow me to impose on you I have no place to stay G# And my bones are cold right through Eb I will tell you a story D Of a man and his family Gm And I swear that it is true Gm Ten years ago I met a girl named Joy She was a sweet and happy thing Her eyes were bright blue jewels And we were married in the spring I had no idea what happiness and little love could bring G# Or what life had in store Eb But all things move toward their end D All things move toward their their end Gm On that you can be sure Hit it Gm Cm Cm Gm Gm Then one morning I awoke to find her weeping And for many days to follow She grew so sad and lonely Became Joy in name only Within her breast there launched an unnamed sorrow G# And a dark and grim force set sail Eb Farewell happy fields D Where joy forever dwells Gm Hail horrors hail Gm Was it an act of contrition or some awful premonition As if she saw into the heart of her final blood-soaked night Those lunatic eyes, that hungry kitchen knife Ah, I see sir, that I have your attention! G# Well, could it be? Eb How often I've asked that question D Well, then in quick succession Gm We had babies, one, two, three Gm We called them Hilda, Hattie and Holly They were their mother's children Their eyes were bright blue jewels And they were quiet as a mouse There was no laughter in the house No, not from Hilda, Hattie or Holly "No wonder", people said, "poor mother Joy's so melancholy" G# Well, one night there came a visitor to our little home Eb I was visiting a sick friend D I was a doctor then Gm Joy and the girls were on their own Gm Cm Cm Gm Gm Joy had been bound with electrical tape In her mouth a gag She'd been stabbed repeatedly And stuffed into a sleeping bag In their very cots my girls were robbed of their lives Method of murder much the same as my wife's G# Method of murder much the same as my wife's Eb It was midnight when I arrived home D Said to the police on the telephone Gm Someone's taken four innocent lives Gm They never caught the man He's still on the loose It seems he has done many many more Quotes John Milton on the walls in the victim's blood The police are investigating at tremendous cost In my house he wrote "his red right hand" G# That, I'm told is from Paradise Lost Eb The wind round here gets wicked cold D But my story is nearly told Gm I fear the morning will bring quite a frost Gm And so I've left my home I drift from land to land I am upon your step and you are a family man Outside the vultures wheel The wolves howl, the serpents hiss And to extend this small favour, friend Would be the sum of earthly bliss G# Do you reckon me a friend? Eb The sun to me is dark D And silent as the moon Gm Do you, sir, have a room? Are you beckoning me in? Hit it (La la la la la la la la la la) (La la la la la la la la la la) Gm Cm Cm Gm x4 2. Stagger Lee (Cave/Bargeld/Casey/Harvey/Wydler) ------------------------------------------------- Dm Am x2 Dm It was back in '32 when times were hard He had a Colt .45 and a deck of cards Am Stagger Lee Dm He wore rat-drawn shoes and an old stetson hat Had a '28 Ford, had payments on that Am Stagger Lee Dm His woman threw him out in the ice and snow And told him, "Never ever come back no more" Am Stagger Lee Dm He walked through the rain and he walked through the mud Till he came to a place called The Bucket of Blood Am Stagger Lee Dm He said, "Mr Motherfucker, you know who I am?" The barkeeper said, "No, and I don't give a good goddamn" Am To Stagger Lee Dm He said, "Well bartender, it's plain to see I'm that bad motherfucker called Stagger Lee Am Mr. Stagger Lee" Dm Barkeep said, "Yeah, I've heard your name down the way And I kick motherfucking asses like you every day" Am Mr Stagger Lee Dm Well those were the last words that the barkeep said Am Cause Stag put four holes in his motherfucking head Dm Just then in came a broad called Nellie Brown Am Was known to make more money than any bitch in town Dm She struts across the bar, hitching up her skirt Over to Stagger Lee, she starts to flirt Am Oh Stagger Lee Dm She saw the barkeep, said, "Oh God, he can't be dead! Am Stag said, "Well, just count the holes in the motherfucker's head" Dm She said, "You ain't look like you scored in quite a time. Am Why not come to my pad? It won't cost you a dime" Mr. Stagger Lee Dm "But there's something I have to say before you begin Am You'll have to be gone before my man Billy Dilly comes in, Mr. Stagger Lee" Dm "I'll stay here till Billy comes in, till time comes to pass Am And furthermore I'll fuck Billy in his motherfucking ass" Said Stagger Lee Dm "I'm a bad motherfucker, don't you know Am And I'll crawl over fifty good pussies just to get one fat boy's asshole" Said Stagger Lee Dm Just then Billy Dilly rolls in and he says, "You must be That bad motherfucker called Stagger Lee" Am I?m Stagger Lee Dm "Yeah, I'm Stagger Lee and you better get down on your knees Am And suck my dick, because If you don't you're gonna be dead" Said Stagger Lee Dm Billy dropped down and slobbered on his head Am And Stag filled him full of lead Dm Am ... Repeat to fade 3. Henry Lee (Cave) ------------------- Am Get down, get down, little Henry Lee Dm And stay all night with me You won't find a girl in this damn world Am That will compare with me G G7 And the wind did howl and the wind did blow C La la la la la Am La la la la lee Dm Am A little bird lit down on Henry Lee Am I can't get down and I won't get down Dm And stay all night with thee For the girl I have in that merry green land Am I love far better than thee G G7 And the wind did howl and the wind did blow C La la la la la Am La la la la lee Dm Am A little bird lit down on Henry Lee Am She leaned herself against a fence Dm Just for a kiss or two And with a little pen-knife held in her hand Am She plugged him through and through G G7 And the wind did roar and the wind did moan C La la la la la Am La la la la lee Dm Am A little bird lit down on Henry Lee Am Come take him by his lilly-white hands Dm Come take him by his feet And throw him in this deep deep well Am Which is more than one hundred feet G G7 And the wind did howl and the wind did blow C La la la la la Am La la la la lee Dm Am A little bird lit down on Henry Lee Am Lie there, lie there, little Henry Lee Dm Till the flesh drops from your bones For the girl you have in that merry green land Am Can wait forever for you to come home G G7 And the wind did howl and the wind did moan C La la la la la Am La la la la lee Dm Am A little bird lit down on Henry Lee ] x3 4. Lovely Creature (Cave/Bargeld/Casey/Harvey/Wydler) ----------------------------------------------------- Cm thoughout There she stands, this lovely creature There she stands, there she stands With her hair full of ribbons And green gloves on her hands So I asked this lovely creature Yes, I asked. Yes I asked Would she walk with me a while Through this night so fast She took my hand, this lovely creature "Yes", she said, "Yes", she said "Yes, I'll walk with you a while" It was a joyful man she led Over hills, this lovely creature Over mountains, over ranges By great pyramids and sphinxs We met drifters and strangers Oh the sands, my lovely creature And the mad, moaning winds At night the deserts writhed With diabolical things Through the night, through the night The wind lashed and it whipped me When I got home, my lovely creature She was no longer with me Somewhere she lies, this lovely creature Beneath the slow drifting sands With her hair full of ribbons And green gloves on her hands 5. Where the Wild Roses Grow (Cave) ----------------------------------- Gm Cm Gm They call me The Wild Rose Bb D But my name was Elisa Day Gm Cm Gm Why they call me it I do not know Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day Gm Bb From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one Cm D As she stared in my eyes and smiled Gm Bb For her lips were the colour of the roses Cm D They grew down the river, all bloody and wild Gm Bb When he knocked on my door and entered the room Cm D My trembling subsided in his sure embrace Gm Bb He would be my first man, and with a careful hand Cm D He wiped the tears that ran down my face Gm Cm Gm They call me The Wild Rose Bb D But my name was Elisa Day Gm Cm Gm Why they call me it I do not know Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day Gm Bb On the second day I brought her a flower Cm D She was more beautiful than any woman I'd seen Gm Bb I said, 'Do you know where the wild roses grow Cm D So sweet and scarlet and free?' Gm Bb On the second day he came with a single rose Cm D He said: 'Will you give me your loss and your sorrow?' Gm Bb I nodded my head, as I layed on the bed Cm D If I show you the roses will you follow? Gm Cm Gm They call me The Wild Rose Bb D But my name was Elisa Day Gm Cm Gm Why they call me it I do not know Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day Gm Bb On the third day he took me to the river Cm D He showed me the roses and we kissed Gm Bb And the last thing I heard was a muttered word Cm Bb As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist Gm Bb On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow Cm D And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief Gm Bb As I kissed her goodbye, I said, 'All beauty must die' Cm D And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth Gm Cm Gm They call me The Wild Rose Bb D But my name was Elisa Day Gm Cm Gm Why they call me it I do not know Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day Gm F Gm For my name was Elisa Day 6. The Curse of Millhaven (Cave) -------------------------------- Repeat progression for entire song Am I live in a town called Millhaven Dm And it's small and it's mean and it's cold But if you come around just as the sun goes down Am You can watch the whole town turn to gold G G7 It's around about then that I used to go a-roaming C Am Singing La la la la La la la lie Dm Em Am All God's children they all gotta die My name is Loretta but I prefer Lottie I'm closing in on my fifteenth year And if you think you have seen a pair of eyes more green Then you sure didn't see them around here My hair is yellow and I'm always a-combing La la la la La la la lie Mama often told me we all got to die You must have heard about The Curse Of Millhaven How last Christmas Bill Blake's little boy didn't come home They found him next week in One Mile Creek His head bashed in and his pockets full of stones Well, just imagine all the wailing and moaning La la la la La la la lie Even little Billy Blake's boy, he had to die Then Professor O'Rye from Millhaven High Found nailed to his door his prize-winning terrier Then next day the old fool brought little Biko to school And we all had to watch as he buried her His eulogy to Biko had all the tears a-flowing La la la la La la la lie Even God's little creatures, they have to die Our little town fell into a state of shock A lot of people were saying things that made little sense Then the next thing you know the head of Handyman Joe Was found in the fountain of the Mayor's residence Foul play can really get a small town going La la la la La la la lie Even God's children all have to die Then, in a cruel twist of fate, old Mrs Colgate Was stabbed but the job was not complete The last thing she said before the cops pronounced her dead Was, "My killer is Loretta and she lives across the street!" Twenty cops burst through my door without even phoning La la la la La la la lie The young ones, the old ones, they all gotta die Yes, it is I, Lottie. The Curse Of Millhaven I've struck horror in the heart of this town Like my eyes ain't green and my hair ain't yellow It's more like the other way around I gotta pretty little mouth underneath all the foaming La la la la La la la lie Sooner or later we all gotta die Since I was no bigger than a weavil they've been saying I was evil That if "bad" was a boot that I'd fit it That I'm a wicked young lady, but I've been trying hard lately O fuck it! I'm a monster! I admit it! It makes me so mad my blood really starts a-going La la la la La la la lie Mama always told me that we all gotta die Yeah, I drowned the Blakey kid, stabbed Mrs. Colgate, I admit Did the handyman with his circular saw in his garden shed But I never crucified little Biko, that was two junior high school psychos Stinky Bohoon and his friend with the pumpkin-sized head I'll sing to the lot, now you got me going La la la la La la la lie All God's children have all gotta die There were all the others, all our sisters and brothers You assumed were accidents, best forgotten Recall the children who broke through the ice on Lake Tahoo? Everyone assumed the "Warning" signs had followed them to the bottom Well, they're underneath the house where I do quite a bit of stowing La la la la La la la lie Even twenty little children, they had to die And the fire of '91 that razed the Bella Vista slum There was the biggest shit-fight this country's ever seen Insurance companies ruined, land lords getting sued All cause of wee girl with a can of gasoline Those flames really roared when the wind started blowing La la la la La la la lie Rich man, poor man, all got to die Well I confessed to all these crimes and they put me on trial I was laughing when they took me away Off to the asylum in an old black Mariah It ain't home, but you know, it's fucking better than jail It ain't such bad old place to have a home in La la la la La la la lie All God's children they all gotta die Now I got shrinks that will not rest with their endless Rorschach tests I keep telling them they're out to get me They ask me if I feel remorse and I answer, "Why of course! There is so much more I could have done if they'd let me!" So it's Rorschach and Prozac and everything is groovy Singing La la la la La la la lie All God's children they all have to die La la la la La la la lie I'm happy as a lark and everything is fine Singing La la la la La la la lie Yeah, everything is groovy and everything is fine Singing La la la la La la la lie All God's children they gotta die 7. The Kindness of Strangers (Cave) ----------------------------------- C Am F G C Am They found Mary Bellows cuffed to the bed Dm G With a rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am She'd grown up hungry, she'd grown up poor Dm G She left her home in Arkansas F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am She wanted to see the deep blue sea Dm G She travelled across Tennessee F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am She met a man along the way Dm G He introduced himself as Richard Slade F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am Poor Mary thought that she might die Dm G When she saw the ocean for the first time F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am She checked into a cheap little place Dm G Richard Slade carried in her old suitcase F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am "I'm a good girl, sir", she said to him Dm G I couldn't possibly permit you in F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am Slade tipped his hat and winked his eye Dm G And turned away without goodbye F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am She sat on her bed and thought of home Dm G With the sea breeze whistling all alone F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am In hope and loneliness she crossed the floor Dm G And undid the latch on her front door F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am They found her the next day cuffed to the bed Dm G A rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head F G C G O poor Mary Bellows C Am So mothers keep your girls at home Dm G Don't let them journey out alone C Am Tell them this world is full of danger Dm G And to shun the company of strangers F G C G O poor Mary Bellows F G C O poor Mary Bellows 8. Crow Jane (Cave/Casey) ------------------------- D x4 D Crow Jane D Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah huh huh D Horrors in her head That her tongue dare not name She lives alone by the river The rolling rivers of pain G Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah huh huh D There is one shining eye on a hard-hat The company closed down the mine Winking on waters they came Twenty hard-hats, twenty eyes In her clapboard shack Only six foot by five They killed all her whiskey And poured their pistols dry G Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah huh huh D Seems you've remembered How to sleep, how to sleep The house dogs are in your turnips And your yard dogs are running all over the street G Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah huh huh D "O Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson Why you close up shop so late?" "Just fitted out a girl who looked like a bird Measured .32, .44, .38 I asked that girl which road she was taking Said she was walking the road of hate But she stopped on a coal-trolley up to the new town Population: 48" G Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah huh huh D Your guns are drunk and smoking They've followed you right back to your gate Laughing all the way back from the new town Population, now, 28 G Crow Jane G Crow Jane D Crow Jane Ah hah huh D ... to fade 9. O?Malley?s Bar (Cave) ------------------------ Cm I am tall and I am thin Of an enviable hight And I've been known to be quite handsome Fm In a certain angle and in certain light Cm Well I entered into O'Malley's Said, "O'Malley, I have a thirst" O'Malley merely smiled at me Fm Said "You wouldn't be the first" ...Repeat same progression for 14 minutes 10. Death Is Not the End (Dylan) -------------------------------- A A E A A When you're sad and when you're lonely And you haven't got a friend E A Just remember that death is not the end A And all that you held sacred Falls down and does not mend E A Just remember that death is not the end A Not the end, not the end E A Just remember that death is not the end A When you're standing on the crossroads That you cannot comprehend E A Just remember that death is not the end A And all your dreams have vanished And you don't know what's up the bend E A Just remember that death is not the end A Not the end, not the end E A Just remember that death is not the end A When the storm clouds gather round you And heavy rains descend E A Just remember that death is not the end A And there's no-one there to comfort you With a helping hand to lend E A Just remember that death is not the end A Not the end, not the end E A Just remember that death is not the end D For the tree of life is growing A Where the spirit never dies D And the bright light of salvation A E Up in dark and empty skies A When the cities are on fire With the burning flesh of men E A Just remember that death is not the end A When you search in vain to find Some law-abiding citizen E E Just remember that death is not the end A Not the end, not the end E A Just remember that death is not the end A Not the end, not the end E A Just remember that death is not the end A A E A .. to fade
