![]() ![]() However, nobody I can think of has ever leant on the world of literature quite as frequently, frankly, and fastidiously as Nick Cave. ![]() ![]() Not that he’s the only songsmith to delve from the songsheet into printed word, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and his close friend and collaborator Patti Smith, have all done it to name but a few. The fact that he has published two full-length novels and an epic poem, along with an assortment of other literary contributions is testament to this. If there has been a more literary songwriter than Cave, then I haven’t heard them. “John Willmot penned his poetry riddled with the pox / Nabakov wrote on index cards, at a lectern, in his socks” Literary Placement – ‘There She Goes, My Beautiful World’, Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus What better place to start than an opening line. Therefore, one enters Cave’s museum (or perhaps odditorium) of song, marvel at the wildly varied artefacts, nonetheless exhibits fittingly bound under the same roof by shared singular stylings, and, as we journey, we shall see what links the real gems together. Reassuringly, however, he went on to single out the opener for ‘Fairytale’ and states that it is “one of the greatest opening lines ever written”. As Cave said himself, in his weekly forum ‘The Red Hand Files’ regarding the BBC censorship of The Pogues classic ‘Fairytale of New York’: “The idea that a word or line, in a song can simply be changed for another and not do it significant damage is a notion that can only be upheld by those that know nothing about the fragile nature of songwriting.” As Chris Morris once said, this quote serves as, “proof, if proof be need be”, of the rightfully esteemed regard in which Cave holds the delicate act of lyric writing and how important it is that any given line fits in with the whole. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |