“From Her To Eternity” is one of Nick’s sexiest songs. It was the title track on the first album from The Bad Seeds and really defined what was going to come with this new project from Nick and the guys. Nick Cave and Mick Harvey had recently moved on from the disbanding of their previous band, The Birthday Party.
We’ll rock a few versions. This one is a great live recording. Notice Kid Congo Powers on guitar from The Cramps and The Gun Club. He was a Bad Seed for about four years.
Here’s a more aggressive version of the song a few years later…with no audience barrier as Nick gets right in their faces. The way all Nick Cave shows should be.
“I want to tell you about a girl. She lives in room 29. That’s the one right on top of mine….
I hear her walking, walking barefoot across the floorboards, all through this lonesome night,
I hear her crying to, her tears come splashing down, leakin’ through the cracks, down upon my face, I catch them in my mouth…”
How cool are those lyrics?
Ah, but wait, there’s more. Wim Wenders cast Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in his brilliant film “Wings of Desire.” (Later bastardized by a silly American version call “City of Angels” starring the dude from “Wild At Heart.”)
The premise of the film is angels walk among the humans, so when we’re in black and white, that’s how the angels view the world and they listen to people’s thoughts. As you’ll see, an angel is on stage, but no one sees him when they cut to color. Then in color, it’s the human point of view.
Notice the fun thoughts in Nick’s mind right before he says, “I want to tell you about a girl.”
“Walk and cry! Kneel and cry!”
Thanks for reading, stay tuned next week for another Nick Cave Monday.