Transpose up (k) Transpose down (j) Cycle song versions (v) Toggle Nashville chords (n) Toggle lyrics only (z) Toggle modulation (m) ------------------------- Artist index (i) Current artist index (I) Song index Tuning index Folk index Theory help ------------------------- Toggle multicolumn (c) Toggle dark mode ------------------------- Find song (f) Random song (r) Random song (current artist) (R)

Nick Cave : Henry's Dream
1992

  1. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry
  2. I Had A Dream, Joe
  3. Straight To You
  4. Brother, My Cup Is Empty
  5. Christina The Astonishing

  6. When I First Came To Town
  7. John Finn's Wife
  8. Loom Of The Land
  9. Jack The Ripper

Papa Won't Leave You, Henry

Capo:
I
Em
I went out walking the other day, the heat hung wet around my neck My head it rung with screams and groans from the night I spent amongst her bones And I passed beside the mission house, where that mad old buzzard, the reverend Shrieked and flapped about life after you're dead, well, I thought about my friend, Michel How they rolled him in linoleum and they shot him in the neck A bloody halo, like a think-bubble circling his head
G
Bm
And I bellowed at the firmament, looks like the rains are here to stay
Em
And the rain pissed down upon me and washed me all away, saying Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, boy Well the road is long and the road is hard
Em
G
Bm
And a many fall by the side
G
Bm
Well Papa won't leave you, Henry
A
Em
So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Oh yeah, I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Well, the moon it looked exhausted, like something you should pity I spent an age spotted above the sizzling wires of the city Well, it reminded me of her face and her bleached and hungry eyes Her hair was like a curtain, falling open with the laughter and closing with the lies And the ghost of her still lingers on, though she's passed through me and is gone Well the slum dogs, they are barking, the rain children on the streets And the tears that we will weep today will all be washed away By the tears that we will weep, we'll weep again tomorrow Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well the road is long and the road is hard And a many fall by the side Well Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Oh yeah, I went on down the road (He went on down the road)
Em
Em
Em
Em
And I came upon a little house, a little house upon a hill And I entered through and the curtain hissed Into the house with its blood-red bowels Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists Crawled the ceilings and the walls And they filled me full of drink and they led me round the rooms Naked and cold and grinning, until everything went black and I came down spinning I awoke so drunk and full of rage that I could hardly speak A fag in a whalebone corset draping his dick across my cheek Well it's into the shame, and it's into the guilt and it's into the fucking fray And the walls ran red around me, a warm arterial spray, saying Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well, the night is dark and the night is deep And its jaws are open wide Yeah well, Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Oh yeah, I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Yeah, whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa) It's the rainy season where I'm living Death comes leaping out of every doorway Wasting you for your money, for your clothes and for your nothing Entire towns being washed away Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways And the lynch mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains The mad heats and the relentless rains Well if you stick your arm into that hole It comes out sheared off to the bone And with her kisses bubbling on my lips, I swiped the rain and I nearly missed
G
Bm
Em
D
Em
And then I went on down the road (He went on down that road) Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Papa won't leave you, Henry Papa won't leave you, Boy Well, the road is long and the road is hard And many fall by the side Well then, Papa won't leave you, Henry So there ain't no need to cry And I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Oh yeah, I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Yeah, bent beneath my heavy load (Under his heavy load) Yeah, I went on down the road (He went on down the road) Oh whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa) Oh whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa) Yeah, whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa) Yeah, whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa) And I went on down that road

I Had A Dream, Joe

Cm
F
(
D
) (I had a dream) I had a dream
D
Gm
(
Cm
) (I had a dream) I had a dream
Cm
F
Bb
(I had a dream) Joe
Gm
Eb
D
I had a dream, Joe, you were standing in the middle of an open road I had a dream, Joe, Your hands were raised up to the sky and your mouth was covered in foam I had a dream, Joe, a shadowy Jesus flitted from tree to tree I had a dream, Joe, And a society of whores stuck needles in an image of me I had a dream, Joe, It was Autumn time and thickly fell the leaves
D
Cm
And in that dream, Joe A pimp in seersucker suit sucked a tooth-pick and pointed his finger at me (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) Joe I opened my eyes, Joe, the night had been a giant, dribbling and pacing the boards I opened my eyes, Joe, all your letters and cards stacked up against the door I opened my eyes, Joe, the morning light came slowly tumbling through the crack In the window, Joe, and I thought of you and I felt like I was lugging a body on my back (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) Joe Where did you go, Joe? On that endless, senseless, demented drift Where did you go, Joe? Into the woods, into the trees, where you move and shift Where did you go, Joe? All dressed up in your ridiculous seersucker suit Where did you go, Joe? With that strew of wreckage forever at the heel of your boot (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) Joe (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) I had a dream (I had a dream) Joe

Straight To You

Capo:
I
|
G
|
F#m
|
x2
G
F#m
All the towers of ivory are crumbling
G
F#m
And the swallows have sharpened their beaks
G
A
D
G
This is the time of our great undoing
D
G
This is the time that I'll come running
G
D
A
G
Straight to you, for I am captured
G
D
A
G
Straight to you, for I am captured
A7
(
D
) One more time |
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
A
|
G
|
A
| Now the light in our window is fading And the candlelit gutters on the ledge Well now sorrow, it comes a-stealing And I'll cry, girl, but I'll come a-running Straight to you, for I am captured Straight to you, for I am captured Once again |
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
G
A
F#m
G
Gone are the days of rainbows
G
A
F#m
G
And gone are the nights of a-swinging from the stars
D
G
For the sea will swallow up the mountains
A
D
G
And the sky will throw thunder-bolts and sparks Straight at you, but I'll come a-running Straight to you, but I'll come a-running One more time |
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
A
|
G
|
A
| Now Heaven has denied us it's kingdom And the saints, they're all drunk and howling at the moon And the chariots of angels are colliding Well, I'll run, babe, but I'll come a-running Straight to you, for I am captured Straight to you, for I am captured One more time |
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
D
|
G
|
D
|

Brother, My Cup Is Empty

Em
Brother, my cup is empty
Em
And I haven't got a penny
Am
For to buy no more whiskey
Em
I have to go home Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home I am the captain of my pain 'Tis the bit, the bridle, the thrashing cane The stirrup, the harness and he whipping mane The pickled eye and the shrinking brain Brother, buy me one more drink Explain the nature of my pity Yes, let me tell you once again I am the captain of my pain Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home I cannot blame it all on her To blame her all would be a lie For many a night I lay awake And wished that I could watch her die See her accusing finger spurt See flies swarm her hateful eye To watch her groaning in the dirt See her clicking tongue crack dry Brother, buy me one more drink One more drink and then goodbye And do not mock me when I say Let's drink one more before I die Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home I've been sliding down on rainbows I've been swinging from the stars This wretch in beggars clothing Bangs his cup across the bars Look, this cup of mine is empty! Seems I've misplaced my desires Seems I'm sweeping up the ashes Of all my former fires So brother, be a brother And fill this tiny cup of mine And please, sir, make it whiskey I have no head for wine Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home I counted up my blessings And counted only one One tiny little blessing And now that blessing's gone So buy me one more drink, my brother Then I'm taking to the road Yes, I'm taking to the rain And I'm taking to the snow Oh my friend, my only brother Do not let the party grieve Throw a dollar onto the bar Now kiss my ass and leave Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home Brother, my cup is empty And I haven't got a penny For to buy no more whiskey I have to go home

Christina The Astonishing

D
Gm
Christina the Astonishing lived a long time ago
Gm
D
She was stricken with a seizure at the age of twenty-two
D
Gm
They took her body in a coffin to a tiny church in Liege
Gm
D
Where she sprang up from the coffin, just after the Agnus Dei
D
Gm
She soared up to the rafters, perched on a beam up there
Gm
Cried "The stink of human sin, the stink of human sin
Eb
D
The stink Is more that I can bear"
Eb
Bb
Ab
Gm
Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh
Eb
Bb
Ab
Gm
Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh
Eb
Bb
Ab
Gm
D
Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh, oh
D
Gm
Christina the Astonishing was the most astonishing of all
Gm
D
She prayed balanced on a hurdle or curled up into a ball
D
Gm
She fled to remote places, climbed towers and trees and walls
Gm
To escape the stench of corruption, the stench of human corruption
Eb
D
Into an oven she did crawl Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh, oh
D
Gm
Christina the Astonishing behaved in a terrifying way
Gm
D
She would run wildly through the streets Jump in the Meuse and swim away
D
Gm
Christina the Astonishing behaved in terrifying manner
Gm
She died at the age of seventy-four, died at the age of seventy-four
Eb
D
In the convent of St Anna Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh oh oh, oh

When I First Came To Town

|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
|
C
When I first came to town All the people gathered round They bought me drinks
F
C
Lord, how quickly they changed their tune When I first came to town People took me round from end to end Like someone make take round a friend Oh how quickly they changed their tune Suspicion and dark murmurs surround me Everywhere I go they confound me As though the blood on my hands
F
/g
Is there for every citizen to see
F
C
Oh sweet Jesus, there is no turning back
Bb
Dm
Gm
C
There is always one more town a little further down the track And from my window, across the tracks I watch the juicers burn their fires And in that light their faces leer at me How I wish they'd just let me be When I first came to town Their favours were for free Now even the doors of the whores of this town Are closed to me I search the mirror And I try to see Why the people of this town Have washed their hands of me Oh sweet Jesus There is no turning back There is always one more town A little further down the track O Lord, every god-damn turn I take I fear the noose, I fear the stake For there is no bone they did not break In all the towns I've been before Well those that sin against me are snuffed out I know from every day that I live God-damn the day that I was born The night that forced me from the womb And god-damn this town For I am leaving now But one day I will return And the people of this town will surely see Just how quickly the tables turn O sweet Jesus This really is the end There is always one more town A little further round the bend

John Finn's Wife

Well the night was deep and the night was dark And I was at the old dance-hall on the edge of town Some big ceremony was going down Dancers writhed and squirmed and then, Came apart and then writhed again Like squirming flies on a pin In the heat and in the din Yes, in the heat and in the din I fell to thinking about the brand new wife of mad John Finn Well, midnight came and a clock did strike And in she came, did John Finn's wife With legs like scissors and butcher's knives A tattooed breast and flaming eyes And a crimson carnation in her teeth Carving her way through the dance floor And I'm standing over by the bandstand Every eye gaping on John Finn's wife Yeah, every eye gaping on John Finn's wife Now John Finn's wife was something of a mystery In a town where to share a sworn secret was a solemn duty I had brass knuckles and a bolo knife Over near the bandstand with John Finn's wife She got perfumed breasts and raven hair Sprinkled with wedding confettis And a gang of garrotters were all giving me stares Armed, as they were, with machetes And the night through the window was full of lights Winking and a-watching at John Finn's wife Winking and a-watching at John Finn's wife Next came the cops, all out on the town But it don't look like no trouble there As they head for the bar in their lumpy suits And I slip my hand between the thighs of John Finn's wife And they seemed to yawn awake, her thighs It was a warm and very ferocious night The moon was full of blood and light And my eyes grew small and my eyes grew tight As I plotted in the ear of John Finn's wife Enter John Finn in his shrunken suit With his quick black eyes and black cheroot With his filed-down teeth and a hobnail boot And his fists full of pistols in his pockets Aiming at me and aiming at his wife The band fall silent fearing for their lives And with fear in my guts like tangled twine Cause all i got is brass knuckles and a bolo knife And mad John Finn's wife is all And the three of us walk out of the hall Now the night bore down upon us all You could hear the crickets in the thickets call And the guns did flare and the guns did bawl And I planted my bolo knife in the neck Of mad John Finn. I took his wretched life Now I'm over near the bandstand Every hand moving on John Finn's wife Every hand moving on John Finn's wife And John Finn's wife Took all the flowers down From her hair And threw them on the ground And the flies did hum And the flies did buzz around Poor John Finn Lying dead upon the ground Lying dead upon the ground

Loom Of The Land

Capo:
I
Em
G
It was the dirty end of winter along the loom of the land
D
C
Em
When I walked with sweet Sally hand upon hand
Em
G
And the wind it bit bitter for a boy of no means
D
C
Em
With no shoes on his feet and a knife in his jeans
Em
G
Along the loom of the land the mission bells pealed
D
C
Em
From the tower at Saint Mary's down to Reprobate Fields
Em
G
And I saw that the world was all blessed and bright
D
C
Em
And Sally breathed softly in the majestic night
D
Oh baby please don't cry
Em
And try to keep
D
C
Your little hand upon my shoulder
Em
Now go to sleep The elms and the poplars were turning their backs Past the rumbling station we followed the tracks We found an untrodden path and followed it down The moon in the sky like a dislodged crown My hands they burned in the folds of her coat Breathing milky white air from deep in her throat Oh baby please don't cry And try to keep Your little head upon my shoulder Now go to sleep Ahh... ahh... ahh... I told Sally in whispers, I'll never bring you harm Her breast it was small and warm in my palm I told her the moon was a magical thing That it shone gold in winter and silver in spring And we walked and walked across the endless sands Just me and my Sally, along the loom of the land Oh baby please don't cry And try to keep Your little head upon my shoulder Now try to sleep O baby please don't cry And don't you weep Lay your head upon my shoulder Now try to sleep Ahh... ahh... ahh... Ahh... ahh... ahh...

Jack The Ripper

Capo:
III
The "yeah... yeah..." backing vocals continue after each line.
|
Em
. . .
Dm
|
x5
Em
Dm
Em
Dm
(
Em
) I got a woman, she rules my house with an iron fist
Em
Dm
Em
Dm
(Yeah..., yeah...)
Em
Dm
Em
Dm
(
Em
) I got a woman, she rules my house with an iron fist
Em
Dm
Em
Dm
(Yeah..., yeah...)
Bm
She screams out Jack the Ripper
Am
(
Em
) Every time I try to give that girl a kiss
Em
Dm
Em
Dm
(Yeah..., yeah...) Well, I got a woman, she strikes me down with a fist of lead Well, I got a woman, she strikes me down with a hand of lead Oh, we bed in a bucket of butcher's knives I awake with a hatchet hanging over my head Well, you know the story of the viper, it's long and lean with a poison Well, you know the story of the viper, it's long, it's lean, it's got a poison tooth Well, they're hissing under the floorboards Hanging down in bunches from my roof Well, I got a woman, she just hollers what she wants from where she's at Well, I got a woman, she just hollers what she wants from where she is She screams out Jack the Ripper Every time I try to give that girl a kiss Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah Oh yeah