Henry Lee (feat. PJ Harvey)

It's quite nursery-rhyme-ish, I think. In a twisted kind of way.

I love Nick Caves & pjs version of this song. its lyrics are based around a 1930s version by dick justice.

"Get down, get down, little Henry Lee, and stay all night with me. The very best lodging I can afford will be fare better'n thee." "I can't get down, and I won't get down, and stay all night with thee, For the girl I have in that merry green land, I love far better'n thee."

She leaned herself against a fence, just for a kiss or two; With a little pen-knife held in her hand, she plugged him through and through. "Come all you ladies in the town, a secret for me keep, With a diamond ring held on my hand I'll never will forsake."

"Some take him by his lily-white hand, some take him by his feet. We'll throw him in this deep, deep well, more than one hundred feet. Lie there, lie there, loving Henry Lee, till the flesh drops from your bones. The girl you have in that merry green land still waits for your return."

"Fly down, fly down, you little bird, and alight on my right knee. Your cage will be of purest gold, in deed of property." "I can't fly down, or I won't fly down, and alight on your right knee. A girl would murder her own true love would kill a little bird like me."

"If I had my bend and bow, my arrow and my string, I'd pierce a dart so nigh your heart your wobble would be in vain." "If you had your bend and bow, your arrow and your string, I'd fly away to the merry green land and tell what I have seen."

you can hear it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoEG8SRiNn8

wow! i first heard this song when i friend of mine played it at a party....the "la la la la la" part just haunted me for days before i figured out which song it was from the lyrics. theres something so eerie and waltz-like about it. the melody just wraps itself around your head and twists in hooks with the lyrics. a truely beautiful song. seriously.

god, this video is just so....

seducing

this is one of those songs I like to listen to when I feel victorious. =P

I've used it as an away message quite a few times over the years, I love morbid things and this is one of the most morbid songs I've ever heard. for some reason, it reminds me of john steinbeck's east of eden... heh, cathy trask...

"lie there, lie there, little henry lee til the flesh drops from your bones for the girl you have in that merry green land can wait forever for you to come home,"

this is my favorite verse in the song, and the imagery I get of a single bird watching the events unfold... perfect.

it's definitely some evil subject matter, but that's what makes it so delicious. it's a perfect combination of talent, if you ask me (pj and nick).

SlightlyMad, I think you are right on with the comparison to Poe. It also have some charactaristcs from mideval ballads with expressions like "lily white hand", and the rythm of the lyrics with the same lines at the end of every verse instead of the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus...or however the modern pop song go.

A wonderful song. The meaning is very straight forward though. Not much room for interpretation there, hehe

Beautiful song, and the video is damn sexy.

'Murder Ballads' is an equal opportunities album! Altho' most of the murderers are male (as in life), the women get a fair go, too. Old ballads are full of jealous & murderous women, & some of those ballads are far more extreme than anything Nick Cave has done. That last verse is chilling - "the girl you have in that merry green land/ can wait forever for you to come home". That line sends a shiver down my spine.

I think Nick Cave draws pretty successfully not just on Poe's style but also on the whole Victorian predilection with the macabre, as well as a style that reminds me of early 20th century/depression era.

He also does a pretty good job of taking traditional/historical themes and putting his own spin on it.

Murder Ballads is a good album to hole up with and listen to when you're pissed off with the world.

the song is way too nasty! god, can jeaousy make one kill another just like that? The only other place I saw such extreme nasty and mean lyrics is E.A.Poe's poems&stories and I just love it. anyway, one of the greatest cave songs i'll say. by the way, this is sung with ex-lover p.j. harvey right?