There is a kingdom. Listening to Nick Cave

 I’m just sitting in my basement listening to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Nick Cave really is a true poet. I’d be bold as to put him in the company of Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan which is the highest praise. Like the aforementioned singers Nick has a deeply spiritual side.

There is a kingdom, there is a king
And He lives without and he lives within
There is a kingdom and there is a king
The starry heavens above me
The moral law within
So the world appears
Through this mist of tears


Lately I've been really inspired by Cave. He has me re-interested in English poetical verse, like Thomas Treharne, John Donne and the devotional poetry of Christina Rossetti. I was particularly moved by Caves beautiful description of receiving the communion wine in the song Brompton Oratory.

A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup to my lips.

Its hard at times to figure if its an earthy or heavenly love he speaks of.
This is part of the appeal of his later songwriting.



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