Day 67 - Murder Ballads

By Paulo Neves:

Hoje vou focar-me num álbum: Murder Ballads de Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Gosto do Nick mas confesso que não gosto de tudo o que ele faz. Mas gosto particularmente deste álbum que já o ouvi de forma exaustiva. O álbum, como o nome indica, é composto de músicas cuja temática são crimes, normalmente passionais.  And that’s it!

O resto, é apreciar a música. Não recomendo que seja ouvido em qualquer circunstância. Diria que ouvi-lo à noite será possivelmente a melhor altura para conhecer o álbum, provavelmente acompanhado de um bom charuto e de um bom whiskey (para quem apreciar, o que não é o meu caso). Eu gosto simplesmente do álbum, pelo que qualquer altura é boa para o rever.

Encontrei este filme que fala sobre o álbum que me pareceu ser muito interessante para se perceber melhor sobre o contexto do álbum. É apenas um excerto, mas será suficiente:

Do you love me like I love you - Part 9: Murder Ballads (Excerpt)

Do you love me like I love you - Part 9: Murder Ballads (Excerpt) from Iain & Jane on Vimeo.

Deixo-vos agora algumas músicas do álbum com alguns excertos da letra para vos ajudar mais rápida e facilmente perceber o “mood” :)

Stagger Lee (esta é claramente a minha música favorita do álbum. É um filme cantado …)

(…)

So he walked through the rain and he walked through the mud
Till he came to a place called The Bucket Of Blood
Stagger Lee
He said "Mr Motherfucker, you know who I am"
The barkeeper said, "No, and I don't give a good goddamn"
To Stagger Lee
He said, "Well bartender, it's plain to see
I'm that bad motherfucker called Stagger Lee"
Mr. Stagger Lee
Barkeep said, "Yeah, I've heard your name down the way
And I kick motherfucking asses like you every day"
Mr Stagger Lee
Well those were the last words that the barkeep said
'Cause Stag put four holes in his motherfucking head
Just then in came a broad called Nellie Brown
Was known to make more money than any bitch in town
She struts across the bar, hitching up her skirt
Over to Stagger Lee, she starts to flirt
With Stagger Lee 

She saw the barkeep, said, "O God, he can't be dead!"
Stag said, "Well, just count the holes in the motherfucker's head"
She said, "You ain't look like you scored in quite a time.
Why not come to my pad? It won't cost you a dime"
Mr. Stagger Lee 

(…)

Henry Lee (com P.J.Harvey)

(…)

She leaned herself against a fence
Just for a kiss or two
And with a little pen-knife held in her hand
She plugged him through and through
And the wind did roar and the wind did moan
La la la la la
La la la la lee
A little bird lit down on Henry Lee
Come take him by his lilly-white hands
Come take him by his feet
And throw him in this deep deep well
Which is more than one hundred feet
And the wind did howl and the wind did blow

(…)

Where The Wild Roses Grow (a música com maior sucesso do álbum com a Kylie Minogue e deixo-vos uma performance live)

PS: Confesso que passei a olhar diferente para a Kylie depois desta música ….

(…)

On the third day he took me to the river

He showed me the roses and we kissed

And the last thing I heard was a muttered word

As he knelt (stood smiling) above me with a rock in his fist

On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow

And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief

And I kissed her goodbye, said, "All beauty must die"

And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth

(…)

The Kindness of Strangers (estas é tão Nick …)

 

(…)

They found her the next day cuffed to the bed
A rag in her mouth and a bullet in her head
O poor Mary Bellows
So mothers keep your girls at home
Don't let them journey all alone
Tell them this world is full of danger
And to shun the company of strangers
O poor Mary Bellows
O poor Mary Bellows

(…)

O’Malley’s Bar (este vídeo tem a letra para melhor poderem acompanhar esta longa história …)

(…)

"Neighbours!" I cried, "Friends!" I screamed
I banged my fist upon the bar
"I bear no grudge against you!"
And my dick felt long and hard
"I am the man for which no God waits
But for which the whole world yearns
I'm marked by darkness and by blood
And one thousand powder-burns" 

(…)

Bem, não vos quero inundar com as musicas todas do álbum. Convido-os a conhecer as restantes e possivelmente a redescobrir o Nick Cave. E para acabar, “just remember that death is not the end” :)

Death Is Not The End (com uma “cambada” de participações: PJ Harvey,  Kylie Minogue, Anita Lane e Shane MacGowan)

 

(…)

When you're standing on the crossroads
That you cannot comprehend
Just remember that death is not the end
And all your dreams have vanished
And you don't know what's up the bend
Just remember that death is not the end
Not the end, not the end
Just remember that death is not the end 

(…)

Enjoy!