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Nick Cave - The Complete Lyrics 1978-2013
Caution! No English version! Polish release.
Paperback
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About the author
Nick Cave
96 books1,981 followersNicholas Edward Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his work in the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and his fascination with American music and its roots. He has a reputation, which he disowns, for singing dark, brooding songs which some listeners regard as depressing. His music is characterised by intensity, high energy and a wide variety of influences. He currently lives in Brighton & Hove in England.
Cave released his first book King Ink, in 1988. It is a collection of lyrics and plays, including collaborations with American enfant terrible Lydia Lunch.
While he was based in West Berlin, Cave started working on what was to become his debut novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989). Significant crossover is evident between the themes in the book and the lyrics Cave wrote in the late stages of the Birthday Party and the early stage of his solo career. "Swampland", from Mutiny, in particular, uses the same linguistic stylings ('mah' for 'my', for instance) and some of the same themes (the narrator being haunted by the memory of a girl called Lucy, being hunted like an animal, approaching death and execution). A collectors' limited edition of the book appeared in 2007.
Cave wrote the foreword to a Canongate publication of the Gospel according to Mark, published in the UK in 1998. The American publication of the same book contains a foreword by a different author.
Cave released his first book King Ink, in 1988. It is a collection of lyrics and plays, including collaborations with American enfant terrible Lydia Lunch.
While he was based in West Berlin, Cave started working on what was to become his debut novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989). Significant crossover is evident between the themes in the book and the lyrics Cave wrote in the late stages of the Birthday Party and the early stage of his solo career. "Swampland", from Mutiny, in particular, uses the same linguistic stylings ('mah' for 'my', for instance) and some of the same themes (the narrator being haunted by the memory of a girl called Lucy, being hunted like an animal, approaching death and execution). A collectors' limited edition of the book appeared in 2007.
Cave wrote the foreword to a Canongate publication of the Gospel according to Mark, published in the UK in 1998. The American publication of the same book contains a foreword by a different author.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 30, 2023
Nick's lyrics.
It was extremely fascinating to see the literature of one lyricist change from an "insect" to very sophisticated. But his talent was evident from the very beginning.
To see all your lyrical work in one piece - there is a more updated version now too - must be extraordinary. And to create over 500 pages of lyrics? Amazing. Even though it took him 35 years to write all that, but also that doesn't include all the unpublished/unreleased or edited-out material that he's created too.
I hated the introduction - whoever Will Self is did not in any way deserve that honour, the intro was self-centered and just not well written.
However the lecture included, Nick's The Secret Life of The Love Song, was fascinating. I didn't necessarily agree with how all love songs are connected to god and such, but it's still fascinating and driving to understand how someone so idolised sees something he's famous for.
His lyrics are so cacophonous, but become more articulated with time.
His lifelong muses are very clear, but his literature wraps around them and spurs from them in vastly different ways throughout his career.
It was extremely fascinating to see the literature of one lyricist change from an "insect" to very sophisticated. But his talent was evident from the very beginning.
To see all your lyrical work in one piece - there is a more updated version now too - must be extraordinary. And to create over 500 pages of lyrics? Amazing. Even though it took him 35 years to write all that, but also that doesn't include all the unpublished/unreleased or edited-out material that he's created too.
I hated the introduction - whoever Will Self is did not in any way deserve that honour, the intro was self-centered and just not well written.
However the lecture included, Nick's The Secret Life of The Love Song, was fascinating. I didn't necessarily agree with how all love songs are connected to god and such, but it's still fascinating and driving to understand how someone so idolised sees something he's famous for.
His lyrics are so cacophonous, but become more articulated with time.
His lifelong muses are very clear, but his literature wraps around them and spurs from them in vastly different ways throughout his career.
February 5, 2022
nick 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓💗💗
January 1, 2014
If you're interested in reading the lyrics to every song Nick Cave has written, this book has you covered.
It also includes the transcript from his "The Secret Life of the Love Song" lecture, which puts the bulk of his works in a new light. To Cave, love songs are as much (or moreso) sad, sorrowful songs because all love ends. You can't have the positive without the negative; this is the prevading thought that colors his lyrics, tinging even his sweetest lyrics with melancholy and even hatred. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, he tells us that he considers the majority of his oeuvre to be love songs; a thought that would be contested by most casual listeners. But if you take his lecture at face value, you can see/hear/feel the "saudade" and "duende" in songs that most would be hard-pressed to label as "love songs."
The lyrics themselves take up most of the pages, as you'd expect from the book's title. They're divided into chapters by album, with non-album songs included within the time period when they were written. You can see how Cave's lyricism matures throughout his career. While it never loses it's hard edges, his writing becomes more coherent and well-crafted. Even then, you can see glimpses of the future in the older songs and echoes of the past in the newer songs.
The only complaint I have is that I'd like to have read additional commentary from Cave about the lyrics themselves. In the opening lecture, he mentions how most of his songs spring from personal experiences and I'd enjoy reading some of the thoughts/experiences/circumstances that spawned some of his lyrics.
It also includes the transcript from his "The Secret Life of the Love Song" lecture, which puts the bulk of his works in a new light. To Cave, love songs are as much (or moreso) sad, sorrowful songs because all love ends. You can't have the positive without the negative; this is the prevading thought that colors his lyrics, tinging even his sweetest lyrics with melancholy and even hatred. Perhaps a bit surprisingly, he tells us that he considers the majority of his oeuvre to be love songs; a thought that would be contested by most casual listeners. But if you take his lecture at face value, you can see/hear/feel the "saudade" and "duende" in songs that most would be hard-pressed to label as "love songs."
The lyrics themselves take up most of the pages, as you'd expect from the book's title. They're divided into chapters by album, with non-album songs included within the time period when they were written. You can see how Cave's lyricism matures throughout his career. While it never loses it's hard edges, his writing becomes more coherent and well-crafted. Even then, you can see glimpses of the future in the older songs and echoes of the past in the newer songs.
The only complaint I have is that I'd like to have read additional commentary from Cave about the lyrics themselves. In the opening lecture, he mentions how most of his songs spring from personal experiences and I'd enjoy reading some of the thoughts/experiences/circumstances that spawned some of his lyrics.
March 6, 2018
How do you read the (almost) complete lyrics of Nick Cave?
Choose your favourite album?
Randomly pick a page then read in the bath?
Read it cover to cover?
Have it by your phone and try to read a song lyric every time you get itchy fingers for social media?
More to the point, how do you review the (almost) complete lyrics of Nick Cave?
First of all this is probably just for the fans, though I can imagine curiosity striking and a person falling in love with the lyrics on the page and then seeking out the music. Maybe. I think the fact that I have seen this book on the shelves of a fair few music loving folk is indicative of the love that people feel for this man's wordcraft. Taking lyrics and putting them on the page will work if the lyrics are substantial and poetic. Here they are. By having a full volume of work you can trace imagery that is developed in songs over time. 'Sail your ships around me' is a good example and is repeated in early songs before the classic The Ship Song.
If you are looking for a strange read with twisted, romantic and wry symbolism then pick up a copy of this book. You may well turn into a Nick Cave devotee.
Choose your favourite album?
Randomly pick a page then read in the bath?
Read it cover to cover?
Have it by your phone and try to read a song lyric every time you get itchy fingers for social media?
More to the point, how do you review the (almost) complete lyrics of Nick Cave?
First of all this is probably just for the fans, though I can imagine curiosity striking and a person falling in love with the lyrics on the page and then seeking out the music. Maybe. I think the fact that I have seen this book on the shelves of a fair few music loving folk is indicative of the love that people feel for this man's wordcraft. Taking lyrics and putting them on the page will work if the lyrics are substantial and poetic. Here they are. By having a full volume of work you can trace imagery that is developed in songs over time. 'Sail your ships around me' is a good example and is repeated in early songs before the classic The Ship Song.
If you are looking for a strange read with twisted, romantic and wry symbolism then pick up a copy of this book. You may well turn into a Nick Cave devotee.
February 9, 2014
This book is a treasure for any Nick Cave fan. Allthough with some flaws ( so far I found them in two lyrics, guess there are more) it really is a must have for anyone who appriciate Cave and his work. A good thing when you get this book is, that it makes you listen to the albums that were on a side track for a while.
February 2, 2014
Brilliant collection of Cave's lyrics, as well as a lecture of his from 2009 on the Love Song.
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February 9, 2021Where is Stagger Lee?
March 25, 2021
This is definitely one for fans....when you read the first line and can then hear the entire song in your head then you are able to appreciate this collection all the more.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews