Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Mercy Lyrics






I stood in the water
In the middle month of winter
My camel skin was torture
I was in a state of nature
The wind, sir, it was wicked
I was so alone
Just as I predicted
My followers were gone

And I cried 'Mercy'
Have mercy upon me
And I got down on my knees

Thrown into a dungeon
Bread and water was my portion
Faith - my only weapon
To rest the devil's legion
The speak-hole would slide open
A viper's voice would plead
Thick with innuendo
Syphilis and Greed

And she cried 'Mercy'
Have mercy upon me
And I told her to get down on her knees

In a garden full of roses
My hands, tied behind me
My cousin was working miracles
I wondered if he'd find me
The moon was turned toward me
Like a platter made of gold
My death, it almost bored me
So often was it told

And I cried 'Mercy'
I cried mercy on me
Cryind 'Mercy'
Have mercy on me





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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Mercy Comments
  1. a.... g....

    he's not necessarily confessing that he's guilty, he only told a lie. he's afraid to die.

  2. O.... J....

    query: where does one get guyliner on death row?

  3. L.... C....

    Johnny cash version Is so much better

  4. j.... n....

    His best track.

  5. V.... V....

    I'm just gonna finish putting my black eyeliner onto the rest of my face!!!!!

  6. D.... T....

    I love the live slow version of this... It's way better arrangement, and more personal.

  7. C.... B....

    The usual praise just seems too weak for this stone-cold genius. He is incredible, and then some!

  8. D.... G....

    What I'd do to have Nick Caves hair in this video...

    D.... G....

    What I'd do to have any hair at all...

  9. D.... G....

    This song will keep me going when I can't do it myself.

  10. J.... P....

    His better álbum 80,s, without doubt

  11. O.... Y....

    WhastApp 00212679620248
    من فـضـــل الله عليه الحمدالله رب العــالمين , هناك حلول لمن يعانون من صغر حجم الذكر الخاص بهم،الفضــل بيد الله يؤتيه من يــشاء الطب الحديث توصـلنا لعلاج القـذف السريع و علاج ضـعف الإنـتصاب تواصل معانا اعبر الوتساب 💪

  12. F.... x....

    One of the best songs ever

  13. P.... S....

    I've known this song since I was like I was 17...I am 48 and I am not afraid to cry

  14. F.... b....

    kto od pyty ?

  15. k.... ....

    The peaky blinders is way better than this version I think ^^, the other version with piano makes it so sad and emotional

  16. O.... Y....

    WhastApp 00212679620248
    من فـــــضل الله عليه الحمدالله رب الــعالمين , هناك حلول لمن يعانون من صغر حجم الذكر الخاص بهم،الفضــل بيد الله يؤتيه من يشاء طب الحديــث توصلنا لـعلاج القذف الـسريع و عـــلاج ضــعف الإنـتصاب تواصل معانا اعبر الوتساب ☎♞

  17. D.... P....

    I really like his "acting" in the jail cell & of course his voice & this song!

  18. N.... ....

    If you took away Nick’s vocals it sounds like a piece from the Nolan Batman Trilogy’s soundtrack

  19. A.... F....

    I heared the german version from ghoethes erben years before this and... sorry. The german version sounds so much better. Fits much more for me.

    A.... F....

    Dunno will give it a listen.

  20. O.... Y....

    WhastApp 00212679620248
    من فضل الله عليه الحـمـدالله رب الــعالمين , هناك حلول لمن يعانون من صغر حجم الذكر الخاص بهم،الفضـــل بيد الله يؤتيـــه من يـشاء طب الحديث توصـلنا لعـلاج القـذف السـريع و علاج ضــعف الإنـتصاب تواصل معانا اعبر الوتساب ☎♞

  21. M.... ....

    Makes me willing to give up an eye, or a tooth.

  22. G.... B....

    Breathtaking. Has to be my favourite song of his

  23. D.... ....

    Krzesło łaski

  24. i.... l....

    deep breath

  25. J.... G....

    my friend Aaron Novick showed me this and I love him

    J.... G....

    Wholesome

  26. M.... ....

    I can't believe there are no comments on this!

    M.... ....

    guessing it was blocked until today!

    M.... ....

    @ice la honk and i looked at this video for the first time ever today. how odd!

  27. z.... ....

    Sir Cave...You are THE KING.

  28. B.... ....

    It's the very last line tha does it for me.

  29. F.... v....

    I like desperate songs. This song takes the crown.

    F.... v....

    I would love a list

  30. B.... P....

    Peaky fuckin blinders

  31. G.... S....

    thumbs up the music

  32. n.... e....

    Hij speelt de phyco super goed

  33. t.... m....

    he looks like anakin skaywalker lol

  34. J.... ....

    I never heard of that song until Johnny Cash covered it. It's a shame.

  35. K.... S....

    Why no Jazz Butcher on this list?

  36. C.... T....

    Demons are licking there chops waiting for this bozo

  37. D.... A....

    Such profound lyrics by a heroin strung out Aussie

  38. K.... S....

    Someday the fruits of your deeds Mr Nick cave we'll be made bare before Christ and if you say you don't believe then why do you mock him in every song you make

  39. R.... M....

    a eye for a eye a tooth for a tooth

  40. R.... M....

    peaky blinders

  41. W.... S....

    Live by the nail die by the nail.

  42. f.... H....

    Why sound quality so bad?

  43. C.... ....

    Man I am so jealous of the kids that say he is their father.

  44. R.... A....

    hey @emimusic , a remastered version of this or just better quality is welcomed in youtube.

  45. M.... D....

    Can't find this mix on any streaming service.

  46. T.... ....

    This is cool. Only discovered it because I was looking for the music in the "Berlin Station" series. 4/2019.

  47. P.... O....

    Weird how he portrays himself as the anti-Christ, but he is a sworn Christian

  48. s.... ....

    I wonder if anyone knows that Mick Harvey wrote the song (lyrics courtesy of Nick of course) but who am I kidding? Most likely you've never heard of him anyway...

  49. A.... M....

    An existential herdy gurdy, spinning in a mindless vortex.

    A.... M....

    Ah feck off would you. Man is a genius.

    A.... M....

    @River Song
    It was a compliment.

    A.... M....

    @Adam Morris Sorry. Grand so.😊

  50. b.... C....

    This is Euchrid! Clearly.....

  51. s.... ....

    It's time this song finally got remastered. No idea what went wrong during the original mastering or whatever, but it always bothered me that this recording sounds like a muddy bootleg and the brillant lyrics get buried in the mix. Also I bet it would sound amazing to properly hear the strings and attack of the drums as the song builds. Someone make a petition, I'm lazy.

    s.... ....

    I second this.

  52. j.... ....

    MASTERPIECE. Period.

  53. -.... S....

    This is the stuff i listen to while "studying"

  54. G.... R....

    SHIT YEAH THIS SONG ROCKS THE WORLD AROUND !!!!!!!

  55. L.... A....

    five stars

  56. E.... L....

    The comparison of God's throne to the electric chair is so fucking ballsy. I love all of Tender Prey, but this is just SUCH a good opening track.

  57. D.... B....

    Johnny cash gave this song a new meaning

  58. N.... J....

    The Mercy Seat awaits us all, one way or another...

    N.... J....

    That would be breathing!!!!

  59. H.... D....

    I really love this song. I don't see how people can't like them

  60. T.... S....

    Blixa looks possessed

  61. G.... ....

    Brits of a certain age find the start of this song just a little cringey - it's been spoilt by memories of that late '80s newspaper front-page-headline "Face Of Jimmy Knapp Appeared In My Soup"

  62. L.... 5....

    Las dos versiones me dan escalofrios, Cave and Cash

  63. T.... B....

    Genius. The last line sells the song.

  64. S.... S....

    over 30 years old and still spell binding stuff - magnificent

  65. B.... s....

    t dude my other dude came upon us and started SCREAMING at us, like a little girl, i was amazed into silence just watching him screech idk what he sed!?!?!? and Bobs like "get going buddy" thats how he talks, and im like AGAIN i hate when stuff like this happens i try and keep my booty apart from each other so no one gets upset...and i dreamed all night about NC NICK CAVE and im still all fukt up over THAT

  66. X.... C....

    It is 5-18 in the morning in Melbourne and I am listening to the greatest song ever written. A song I have clung on to for many more years than I have left. And yes, Tom Waits and Mr. Lynch are there in the corner of my room. My pen is begging, and my open page is waiting for me to vomit some more thoughts. The bus is leading me to the station to have my arm bled to reveal more of my situation.

  67. g.... i....

    excellent Christian rock song...

  68. D.... F....

    One of the most powerful songs ever!

  69. B.... s....

    imagine nick cave on my ****and that would be LIKE HEAVEN AND LIKE WAAAAAY BETTER THAN EVER DYING EVEN 3 TIMES...

  70. B.... s....

    ************

  71. v.... ....

    beautiful

  72. A.... R....

    Bis heute hat sich nicht viel geändert. Die Todesstrafe gibt es noch immer. Es macht die Welt nicht besser aber ein Bauernopfer wird wohl noch drinnen sein.

  73. T.... r....

    The Godfather of gothic gloom

  74. K.... ....

    I've always disliked faces in my soup.

  75. D.... M....

    I love you.

  76. M.... T....

    Charisma, that is.

  77. P.... J....

    johnny cash version SOOO much better!!

  78. K.... X....

    the german cover version by "Goethes Erben" called "Der Sitz der Gnade" is also awesome

  79. F.... P....

    I made a playlist for work comprised of Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, and Leonard Cohen.

  80. G.... S....

    Better late than never. I just discovered them today. I've listened to 20 of their songs so far and love every single one of them. I can never say that about any artist! But this song, OMG, this song just blows me away!

  81. S.... ....

    In the beginning, he says “ Murder Of which I am nearly wholly innocent, you know”. So he isn't completely innocent just nearly. Later he talks about his hands and fingers, one evil and one good, of which he observes “That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist”. As if he's blaming the whole incident on these filthy five fingers. Tellingly, it is the “kill-hand” that “Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D.” He calls the ring “a long-suffering shackle collaring all that rebel blood”. He's not cut of the same cloth as everyone else, doing his best to live as society dictates but finding himself unable to live up to the expectations.

    The moral is some people need help, not death.

  82. I.... T....

    er. no.

  83. F.... G....

    I was a Stryker driver in the army as an infantryman. I recall horror stories of soldiers, particularly drivers, being stuck inside while the vehicle is on fire. The driver seat is the mercy seat.

  84. M.... M....

    god there is a shiny star in my eye, or the reflection of your angry face on my sweaty skin, or the arms that reach but do not clutch, or the death of your youth and the beconning of a calling stranger in the fog without a peep without a sound it strikes you down with it's fist clenched and takes from you all you've ever known

  85. M.... M....

    and heaven's throw is made of foam

  86. M.... M....

    and in a way i'm yearning to be done with all this weighing of the truth

  87. U.... R....

    This song is an apocalyptic hurricane and we get taken straight to the eye

  88. K.... L....

    Is this the original that Johnny Cash did a cover off of? Absolutely love the Cash version, always thought it was a cover but didn’t know who of

  89. s.... s....

    The Prince of Darkness. Saw him live few weeks ago. It was fucking amazing. They didn't play The Mercy Seat though.

  90. P.... G....

    I can understand what is being said better in the Johnny Cash version but he seems more legitimately crazy here.

  91. C.... 0....

    First Nick Cave song I ever heard. Completely blew me away.

  92. M.... ....

    Just give him the goddamn nobel already

  93. t.... p....

    i prefer johnny cashes version to this but it is till a ok song

  94. S.... ....

    Does Thomas Wydler age at all?

  95. B.... ....

    Peaky Blinders?

  96. N.... D....

    "Hey Riddle, RIDDDLE....I've got a riddle....what's fat, lives next door and cuts up little girls?....YOU!"

  97. E.... G....

    And in the end he told a lie..
    Nice song thow

  98. j.... d....

    I like this