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Nick Cave : Lyre Of Orpheus
2004


  1. The Lyre Of Orpheus
  2. Breathless
  3. Babe, You Turn Me On
  4. Easy Money
  5. Supernaturally
  6. Spell
  7. Carry Me
  8. O Children

The Lyre Of Orpheus

Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed Wondering what to do With a lump of wood, a piece of wire And a little pot of glue Oh Mama, oh Mama He sawed at the wood with half a heart And glued it top to bottom He strung a wire in between He was feeling something rotten Oh Mama, oh Mama Orpheus looked at his instrument And he gave the wire a pluck He heard a sound so beautiful He gasped and said Oh my God Oh Mama, oh Mama He rushed inside to tell his wife He went racing down the halls Eurydice was still asleep in bed Like a sack of cannonballs Oh Mama, oh Mama Look what I've made, cried Orpheus And he plucked a gentle note Eurydice's eyes popped from their sockets And her tongue burst through her throat Oh Mama, oh Mama Oh God, what have I done, he said As her blood pooled in the sheets But in his heart he felt a bliss With which nothing could compete Oh Mama, oh Mama Orpheus went leaping through the fields Strumming as hard as he did please Birdies detonated in the sky Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees Oh Mama, oh Mama Orpheus strummed till his fingers bled He hit a G minor 7 He woke up God from a deep, deep sleep God was a major player in heaven Oh Mama, oh Mama God picked up a giant hammer And He threw it with an thunderous yell It smashed down hard on Orpheus' head And knocked him down a well Oh Mama, oh Mama The well went down very deep Very deep went down the well The well went down so very deep Well, the well went down to hell Oh Mama, oh Mama Poor Orpheus woke up with a start All amongst the rotting dead His lyre tacked safe under his arm His brains all down his head Oh Mama, oh Mama Eurydice appeared brindled in blood And she said to Orpheus If you play that fucking thing down here I'll stick it up your orifice! Oh Mama, oh Mama This lyre lark is for the birds, said Orpheus It's enough to send you bats Let's stay down here, Eurydice, dear And we'll have a bunch of screaming brats Oh Mama, oh Mama Orpheus picked up his lyre for the last time He was on a real low down bummer And stared deep into the abyss and said This one is for Mama Oh Mama, oh Mama Oh Mama, oh Mama


Breathless

|
C
|
G
|
C
|
G
|
F
|
G
|
x2
C
G
C
It's up in the morning and on the downs
G
F
Little white clouds like gambolling lambs
G
C
And I am breathless over you
G
C
And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
G
F
His throat it trembles when he sings
G
C
For he is helpless before you
G
The happy hooded bluebells bow
C
G
F
And bend their heads all a-down
G
C
Heavied by the early morning dew
G
C
At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
G
F
The fishes leap up to take a look
G
C
For they are breathless over you
G
C
Still your hands, and still your heart
G
F
For still your face comes shining through
G
C
And all the morning glows anew
G
C
Still your mind, still your soul
G
F
For still, the fire of love is true
G
C
And I am breathless without you
|
G
|
C
|
G
|
F
|
G
|
C
G
The wind circles among the trees
C
G
F
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
G
C
For it is breathless without you
G
The fox chases the rabbit round
C
G
F
The rabbit hides beneath the ground
G
C
For he is defenceless without you
G
The sky of daytime dies away
C
G
F
And all the earthly things they stop to play
G
C
For we are all breathless without you
G
I listen to my juddering bones
C
G
F
The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs
G
C
And I am breathless without you
G
C
Still your hands, and still your heart
G
F
For still your face comes shining through
G
C
And all the morning glows anew
G
C
Still your mind, still your soul
G
F
For still, the fire of your love is true
G
C
And I am breathless without you
F
G
F
C
And I am breathless without you


Babe, You Turn Me On

G
Stay by me
G
Stay by me
Em
You are the one
D
G
My only true
G
The butcher bird makes its noise And it asks you to agree
Em
With its brutal nesting habits
D
And its pointless savagery
G
Now the nightingale it sings to you And raises up the ante
Em
I put one hand on your round ripe heart
D
And the other down your panties
G
Everything is falling, dear Everything is wrong
Em
It's just history repeating itself
D
G
And babe you turn me on
G
Like a light bulb, babe
Em
D
Like a song
G
You race naked through the wilderness You torment the birds and the bees
Em
You leapt into the abyss but find
D
It only goes up to your knees
G
I move stealthily from tree to tree I shadow you for hours
Em
I make like I'm a little deer
D
Grazing on the flowers
G
Everything is collapsing, dear All moral sense is gone
Em
It's just history repeating itself
D
G
And babe you turn me on
G
Like an idea, babe
Em
D
Like an atom bomb
G
We stand awed inside a clearing We do not make a sound
Em
The crimson snow falls all about
D
Carpeting the ground
G
Everything is falling, dear All rhyme and reason gone
Em
It's just history repeating itself
D
G
And babe you turn me on
G
Like an idea, babe
Em
D
Like an atom bomb


Easy Money

|
Em
|
/d
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/c
|
/b
| |
Em
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/d
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/c
|
/b
| |
Am
| |
C
| | |
Em
|
/d
|
/c
|
/b
| |
Am
| |
C
| | |
Em
|
/d
|
/c
|
/b
|
Em
/d
/c
/b
"It's difficult, it's very tough"
Em
/d
/c
/b
I said to the man who'd been sleeping rough
Am
To sit within a fragrant breeze
C
All among the nodding trees
D
Em
That hang heavy with the stuff
He threw his arms around my neck He brushed the tear from my cheek And held my soft white hand He was an understanding man He did not even barely hardly speak
D
Easy money
C
Rain it down on the wife and the kids
D
Rain it down on the house where we live
Em
Rain until you got nothing left to give
C
D
Em
And rain that ever-loving stuff down on me
|
Am
| |
C
| | |
Em
|
/d
|
/c
|
/b
|
All the things for which my heart yearns Gives joy in diminishing returns He kissed me on the mouth His hands they headed south And my cheek it burned Money, man, it is a bitch The poor, they spoil it for the rich With my face pressed in the clover I wondered when this would be over And at home we are all so guilty-sad Easy money Pour it down the open drain Pour it all through my veins Pour it down, yeah, let it rain And pour that ever-loving stuff down on me |
Am
| |
C
| | |
Em
|
/d
|
/c
|
/b
|
Now, I'm sitting pretty down on the bank Life shuffles past at a low interest rate In the money-coloured meadows And all the interesting shadows They leap up, then dissipate
D
Easy money
Em
Easy money
D
Easy money
Rain it down on the wife and the kids Rain it down on the house where we live Rain until you got nothing left to give And rain that ever-loving stuff down on me


Supernaturally

|
Am
. . (
Em
) | ...
Am
Through the windswept coastal trees
G
Where the dead come rising from the sea
F
Dm
With a teddy bear clamped between her knees
Am
She says, where can my loverman be?
Well, I'm down here, babe, with the Eskimos With the polar bears and the Arctic snow With a party of penguins who do not know How I can get back to you
G
Well I'm gonna ask you, babe
F
C
G
Hey! Ho! Oh baby don't you go Hey! Ho! Oh no, no, no Hey! Ho! Oh baby, don't you go
F
All supernatural on me
Dm
Am
supernaturally
Once I was your heart's desire Now I am the ape hunkered by the fire With my knuckles dragging through the mire You float by so majestically You're my north, my south, my east, my west You are the girl that I love best With an army of tanks bursting from your chest I wave my little white flag at thee Well, can you see it, babe? Hey! Ho! Oh baby don't you go Hey! Ho! Oh no, no, no Hey! Ho! Oh baby, don't you go All supernatural on me Supernaturally Now I've turned the mirrors to wall And I've emptied out the peopled halls I've nailed shut the windows and I've locked the doors There is no escape, you see And I chase you up and down the stairs Under tables and over chairs I reach out and I touch your hair And it cuts me like a knife For there is always some little thing you gotta do! Hey! Ho! Oh baby don't you go Hey! Ho! Oh baby, no, no, no Hey! Ho! Oh don't you go All supernatural on me Supernaturally


Spell

|
Gm
|
F
Gm
| ...
Gm
F
Gm
Through the woods, and frosted moors Past the snow-caked hedgerows I Bed down upon the drifting snow Sleep beneath the melting sky I whisper all your names I know not where you are But somewhere, somewhere, somewhere here
Gm
F
Upon this wild abandoned star
F
And I'm full of love And I'm full of wonder And I'm full of love
F
Gm
And I'm falling under your spell
|
Gm
|
F
Gm
| ...
Gm
F
Gm
I have no abiding memory No awakening, no flaming dart No word of consolation No arrow through my heart Only a feeble notion A glimmer from afar That I cling to with my fingers
Gm
F
As we go spinning wildly through the stars
And I'm full of love And I'm full of wonder And I'm full of love And I'm falling under your spell |
Gm
|
F
Gm
| ...
Gm
F
Gm
The wind lifts me to my senses I rise up with the dew The snow turns to streams of light The purple heather grows anew I call you by your name I know not where you are But somehow, somewhere, sometime soon
Gm
F
Upon this wild abandoned star
And I'm full of love And I'm full of wonder And I'm full of love And I'm falling under your spell |
Gm
|
F
Gm
| ...


Carry Me

|
Em
|
Cmaj7
|
Am
|
Cmaj7
|
x2
Em
Cmaj7
I lay down by the river
Am
Cmaj7
Em
The shadows moved across me, inch by inch
Cmaj7
And all that I heard
Am
Cmaj7
Was the war between the water and the bridge
Em
Turn to me (turn to me)
Cmaj7
Turn to me (turn to me)
Am
Turn to me (turn to me)
Cmaj7
Em
Turn and drink of me
Em
(Look away) Or look away
Cmaj7
(Look away) look away
Am
(Look away) look away
C
G
And never more think of me
G
C
Carry me
G
Em
Carry me
|
Cmaj7
|
Am
|
Cmaj7
|
Em
Cmaj7
I heard the many voices
Am
Cmaj7
C
Speaking to me from the depths below
Em
Cmaj7
This ancient wound, this catacomb
Am
Cmaj7
Beneath the whited snow
Em
Come to me (come to me)
Cmaj7
Come to me (come to me)
Am
Come to me (come to me)
Cmaj7
Em
Come and drink of me
Em
(Turn away) Or turn away
Cmaj7
(Turn away) turn away
Am
(Turn away) turn away
C
G
And never more think of me
G
C
Carry me (Carry me)
G
Em
Cmaj7
Carry me away
|
Cmaj7
|
Am
|
Cmaj7
|
Em
Cmaj7
Who will lay down their hammer?
Am
Cmaj7
Em
Who will put up their sword?
Cmaj7
Am
And pause to see the mystery
Cmaj7
G
The mystery of the word
G
C
Carry me (Carry me)
G
C
Carry me
Am
D
Carry me (Carry me)
Am
D
G
Carry me away
G
C
Carry me (Carry me)
G
C
Carry me
Am
D
Carry me (Carry me)
Am
D
G
Carry me away...


O Children

|
Em
|
C
|
Am
|
G
. .
D
|
Em
Pass me that lovely little gun
C
My dear, my darling one
Am
The cleaners are coming, one by one
G
D
(
Em
) You don't even want to let them start
|
Em
|
C
|
Am
|
G
. .
D
| They are knocking now upon your door They measure the room, they know the score They're mopping up the butcher's floor Of your broken little hearts (
Em
)
C
Am
G
D
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh children
Forgive us now for what we've done It started out as a bit of fun Here, take these before we run away The keys to the gulag (
Em
)
Cmaj7
Ooh children
G
D
Em
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Cmaj7
Children
G
D
(
Em
) Rejoice, rejoice
|
Em
|
C
|
Am
|
G
. .
D
| Here comes Frank and poor old Jim They're gathering round with all my friends We're older now, the light is dim And you are only just beginning (
Em
)
C
Am
G
D
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh children
We have the answer to all your fears It's short, it's simple, it's crystal clear It's round about, it's somewhere here Lost amongst our winnings Ooh children Lift up your voice, lift up your voice Children Rejoice, rejoice |
Em
|
C
|
Am
|
G
. .
D
| The cleaners have done their job on you They're hip to it, man, they're in the groove They've hosed you down, you're good as new And they're lining up to inspect you (
Em
)
C
Am
G
D
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh children
Poor old Jim's white as a ghost He's found the answer that we lost We're all weeping now, weeping because There ain't nothing we can do to protect you Ooh children Lift up your voice, lift up your voice Children Rejoice, rejoice Hey little train, we're jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun And the train ain't even left the station Hey little train, wait for me I once was blind but now I see Have you left a seat for me? Is that such a stretch of the imagination? Hey little train, wait for me I was held in chains but now I'm free I'm hanging in there, don't you see? In this process of elimination Hey little train, we're jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun It's beyond my wildest expectation Hey little train, we're jumping on The train that goes to the Kingdom We're happy, Ma, we're having fun And the train ain't even left the station