Song of the Day: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “I Need You”
Released: 2016
Album: Skeleton Tree
“…And what doesn’t kill you just makes you crazier” — Nick Cave (“Balcony Man”)
There we were, sitting in a room full of people who’ve all shared in a worldwide trauma for the past few years. Each one at a different stage of moving on—those furthest along most callously tempting fate. Mortality and uncertainty had always been anxious pests buzzing around our heads, but in the recent years they had become a constant within the collective mind of society.
There may be no better man gather together around than Nick Cave. For more than four decades, Nicholas Edward Cave has explored the depths of mortality, seeking and often demanding answers. The dark cloud of uncertainty still looms large over his works, but deep within there’s also enlightenment.
From the moment they walked onto the stage of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium to the rapturous finale, I was overtaken by a euphoria I haven’t felt in years. In the summer, when the Mountain Goats played the first live set I’d experienced since the start of the pandemic, I felt that sensation. But it was fleeting. It wasn’t enough to suppress the anxieties. The performance by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis was. They relieved my burdens and reminded me of the magic that humans are capable of.
Every second of that performance felt purposeful. Within the epic spectacle, there were little moments that sent shivers down my spine. The way that Nick whispered the words “just breathe” at the end of the devastating rendition of “I Need You”. Warren Ellis’ triumphant violin solo after the second verse of the “Cosmic Dancer” cover. The way the band shifted from atmospheric somber ballads to the fist-pumping rage of “Hand of God.” The backup singers elevating “Jubilee Street” towards the heavens.
As it was billed as a Nick Cave & Warren Ellis show, they could have played only material from Carnage, it it would have been satisfying. Those songs, most notably “White Elephant” and “Hand of God” were major highlights. They also played a load of songs off of Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen. Ellis’ sweeping electronic compositions were intoxicating. The inclusion of older Bad Seeds material like “Henry Lee” and “God Is In The House” was just icing on the cake.
Of the thousands of live performances I’ve witnessed, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis may have been the best I’ve ever experienced.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
When you’re feeling like a lover, nothing really matters anymore
I saw you standing there in the supermarket
With your red dress falling and your eyes are to the ground
Nothing really matters, nothing really matters when the one you love is gone
[Chorus]
It’s still in me, baby I need you
In my heart, I need you
[Verse 2]
Cause nothing really matters
I’m standing in the doorway
You’re walking ’round to my place
In your red dress, hair hanging down
With your eyes on one, we love the ones we can
Cause nothing really matters when you’re standing
[Verse 3]
Cause nothing really matters
We followed the lines in the palms of our hands
You’re standing in the supermarket
Nothing, holding hands
In your red dress, falling, falling in, falling in
The long black cars waiting ’round
I will miss you when you’re gone
I’ll miss you when you’re gone away forever
Cause nothing really matters
I thought I knew better, so much better
[Chorus]
And I need you
I need you
[Chorus]
Standing
I need you, need you
[Verse 4]
Cause nothing really matters
Oh the night we wrecked like a train
Purring cars in the pouring rain
Never felt right about it, never again
Cause nothing really matters
Nothing really matters anymore
Not even today, no matter how hard I try
When you’re standing in the aisle
And baby, nothing, nothing, nothing
[Chorus]
I need, I need, I need you
I need you, I need you
Just breathe, just breathe
I need you