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The Mercy Seat - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
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Note: Every version of the Mercy Seat is different and
almost infinitely extendable. The version here is
how I play the chords, plus the lyrics that appear
in the booklet for the Tender Prey CD (with quite a few changes).
In short, this is just an approximation, so choose your own
lyrics from the vast selection that appear below.
The chords are defined at the end.
The Mercy Seat
written by Nick Cave & Mick Harvey
It began when they come took me from my home
And put me in Dead Row
Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know
And I'll say it again
I am not afraid to die.
(addE)
I began to warm and chill
(addE)
To objects and their fields
(addE)
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
(addE)
The face of Jesus in my soup
(addE)
Those sinister dinner deals
(addE)
The meal trolley's wicked wheels
(addE)
A hooked bone rising from my
(addE)
food. All things good or ungood.
And the mercy seat is waiting
(addB)
And I think my head is burning
(addB)
And in a way I'm yearning to be
(addA)
done with all this measuring of
(addA)
truth, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
(addC)
tooth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm not afraid to die.
(addE)
Interpret signs and catalogue
(addE)
A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog
(addE)
The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind.
(addE)
They are the sick breath at my hind
(addE)
They are the sick breath at my hind
(addE)
They are the sick breath at my hind
(addE)
They are the sick breath gathering
(addE)
at my hind.
(addB)
I hear stories from the
(addB)
chamber, How Christ was born into a
(addB)
manger And like some ragged stranger
(addA)
Died upon the cross, And might I
(addA)
say it seems so fitting in its
(addC)
way He was a carpenter by
(addG)
trade, Or at least that's what I'm
(addE)
told.
(addE)
(addE)
Like my good hand
(addE)
I tattooed E.V.I.L. across it's
(addE)
brother's fist
(addE)
That filthy five! They did
(addE)
nothing to resist.
(addB)
In heaven His throne is made of gold
(addB)
The ark of His testament is
(addB)
stowed, A throne from which I'm told all
(addA)
history does unfold, Down here it's
(addA)
made of wood and wire, And my
(addC)
body is on fire
(addG)
And God is never far away.
(addE)
Into the mercy seat I climb
(addE)
My head is shaved, my head is
(addE)
wired, And like a moth that tries to
(addA)
enter the bright eye, so I go
(addA)
shuffling out life, Just to
(addC)
hide in death a while
(addG)
And anyway I never lied.
(addE)
My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L.
(addE)
Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.
(addE)
'Tis a long suffering shackle
(addE)
Collaring all that rebel blood
And the mercy seat is waiting
(addB)
And I think my head is burning
(addB)
And in a way I'm yearning to be
(addA)
done with all this measuring of
(addA)
truth, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
(addC)
tooth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is burning
(addB)
And I think my head is glowing
(addB)
And in a way I'm hoping to be
(addA)
done with all this weighing up of
(addA)
truth, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
(addC)
tooth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is glowing
(addB)
And I think my head is smoking
(addB)
And in a way I'm hoping to be
(addA)
done with all these looks of disbeleif
(addA)
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
(addC)
tooth, And anyway I there was no
(addG)
proof, Nor a motive why.
And the mercy seat is smoking
(addB)
And I think my head is melting
(addB)
And in a way I'm helping to be
(addA)
done with all this twisting of
(addA)
truth, An eye for an eye and a truth for a
(addC)
truth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is melting
(addB)
And I think my blood is boiling
(addB)
And in a way I'm spoiling all the
(addA)
fun with all this truth and consequence
(addA)
An eye for an eye and a truth for a
(addC)
truth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm not afraid to die.
And the mercy seat is waiting
(addB)
And I think my head is burning
(addB)
And in a way I'm yearning to be
(addA)
done with all this measurement of
(addA)
proof, A lie for a lie and a truth for a
(addC)
truth, And anyway there was no
(addG)
proof, And I'm not afraid to tell a lie.
And the mercy seat is waiting
(addB)
And I think my head is burning
(addB)
And in a way I'm yearning to be
(addA)
done with all this measurment of
(addA)
proof, An eye for an eye and a truth for a
(addC)
truth, And anyway I told the
(addG)
truth, And I'm afraid I told a lie.
Chords:
E -0---0--------0---0--------------------------------------------------|
B -0---0--------0---0--------------------------------------------------|
G -0---4--------9---9---------7---7---------10--10--------5---5--------|
D -2---4--------9---9---------7---7---------10--10--------5---5--------|
A -2---2--------7---7---------5---5---------8---8---------3---3--------|
E -0---0--------0---7-------------5-------------8-------------3--------|
(addE) (addB) (addA) (addC) (addG)
Cheers,
--
Greg O'Beirne
woyf@perth.dialix.oz.au