Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – “Carry Me”

One morning, I finished my announcements and started the track I had loaded up. Suddenly this beautiful, lush, and violent sound filled the studio – pianos and violins played by madmen, yet accompanied by an almost jazzy bass and drum section. And then this voice, haunting, yet mollitious, crooning, “I lay down by the river / Shadows moved across me inch by inch / All that I knew / Was the war between the water and the bridge.”

What was this? I took a look at the CD label and was formally introduced to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and their formidable double-album, Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus. This was some serious stuff! I may have come late to the cool music party, but once I had a listen, I was hooked.

It has been almost 10 years since my first encounter with “Carry Me”, and yet the song has become an integral part of my life. I listen to it almost daily and I still don’t really know what the song is about. I do know, however, that it is beautiful and I want it played at my wedding and funeral. Thank you, WRAS, for introducing me to music that matters.