Wild God
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Once upon a time a wild god zoomed
All through his memory in which he was entombed
It was rape and pillage in the retirement village
But in his mind he was a man of great virtue and courage
So he flew out the window with his long trailing hair
The smoke from the bodies went straight up in the air
He was a wild god searching for what all old wild gods are searching for and he flew through the dying city like a prehistoric bird
He went searching for the girl down on Jubilee Street
But she’d died in a bedsit in 1993
So he flew to the top of the world and looked around
And said where are my people to bring your spirit down?
A wild god searching for a faraway girl, who was basically a mirage that nevertheless loomed large
She would hang on to the rail as he blew through the room
And make love with a kind of efficient gloom
And the people on the ground cried when does it start?
And the wild god says it starts with the heart, with the heart, with the heart
And the people on the ground cried when does it end?
The wild god says well it depends, but mostly never ends
‘Cause I’m a wild god flying and a wild god swimming
And an old sick god dying and crying and singing
Bring your spirit down
Oh, we’re wild gods, baby, we’re wild gods
Yeah, bring your spirit down
Well, he’s moving through the flames of anarchy
He’s moving through the winds of tyranny
And the sweet, sweet tears of liberty
Yeah, moving round the world
He’s moving through your body like a prehistoric bird
He’s moving round the world
O Lord, if you’re feeling lonely and if you’re feeling blue
And you just don’t know what to do
Bring your spirit down
Oh we’re wild gods, baby, we’re wild gods
I’m a wild god, baby, I’m a wild god!
Here we go!
We’re going to the cradle of Africa
We’re going to Russia
We’re going to China
To the United States of America!
Yeah, moving around the world
Yeah, moving like a great, big, beautiful bird
Moving around the world
Yeah, he swims to end of the rotting pier
He swims to end of his rotting ideas
Swim to the hymn and swim to the prayer
And bring your spirit down
I’m a wild god, baby, I’m a wild god
Here we go! Yeah, here we go!