Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat

Official music video for “The Mercy Seat” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Download or Stream https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/tenderpreyID Watch Bad Seed TeeVee https://www.nickcave.com/badseedteevee/ 24 hour Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds videos, interviews, live performances and more. Video directed by Christoph Dreher. ‘The Mercy Seat’ was the first single from the band’s fifth album ‘Tender Prey’ and originally released in May 1988. The song featured the Bad Seeds line up of Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Kid Congo Powers, Thomas Wydler & Roland Wolf. Subscribe to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/YouTubeID Listen to the new album ‘Ghosteen’ here: https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/ghosteenretailersID Listen to The Best of Nick Cave & The Best on Spotify here: https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/bestofspotifyID Listen to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Essentials on Apple Music here: https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/bestofappleID Visit the official Nick Cave merch store here: https://nickcave.lnk.to/storeID Find Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on… Official website: https://www.nickcave.com/ Facebook: https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/FacebookID Twitter https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/TwitterID Instagram https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/InstagramID Spotify https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/SpotifyID Apple Music https://ncandtbs.lnk.to/AppleMusicID Lyrics: 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. I began to warm and chill To objects and their fields, A ragged cup, a twisted mop The face of Jesus in my soup Those sinister dinner deals The meal trolley's wicked wheels A hooked bone rising from my food All things either good or ungood. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof. An eye for an eye A tooth for a tooth And anyway I told the truth And I'm not afraid to die. Interpret signs and catalogue A blackened tooth, a scarlet fog. The walls are bad. Black. Bottom kind. They are sick breath at my hind They are sick breath at my hind They are sick breath at my hind They are sick breath gathering at my hind I hear stories from the chamber How Christ was born into a manger And like some ragged stranger Died upon the cross And might I say, it seems so fitting in its way He was a carpenter by trade Or at least that's what I'm told Like my good hand tattooed E.V.I.L. across it's brother's fist That filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist. In Heaven His throne is made of gold The ark of his Testament is stowed A throne from which I'm told All history does unfold. Down here it's made of wood and wire And my body is on fire And God is never far away. Into the mercy seat I climb My head is shaved, my head is wired And like a moth that tries To enter the bright eye So I go shuffling out of life Just to hide in death awhile And anyway I never lied. My kill-hand is called E.V.I.L. Wears a wedding band that's G.O.O.D. 'Tis a long-suffering shackle Collaring all that devil blood. And the mercy seat is a-burning And I think my head is flowing And in a way I'm hoping To be done with all this weighing up of truth. An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth And I've got nothing left to lose And I'm not afraid to die. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth And anyway, there was no proof And nor a motive why. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof. A life for a life And a tooth for a tooth And anyway there was no proof And I'm not afraid to die. Now the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is smoking And in a way I'm hoping To be done with all these looks of disbelief. A eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth And anyway I told the truth And I'm not afraid to die. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth And anyway I told the truth And I'm not afraid to die. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof. A eye for a eye And a tooth for a tooth And anyway I told the truth But I'm not afraid to lie. And the mercy seat is waiting And I think my head is burning And in a way I'm yearning To be done with all this measuring of proof An eye for an eye And a tooth for a tooth And anyway I told the truth But I'm afraid I told a lie. #NickCaveandtheBadSeeds #TenderPrey #TheMercySeat (C)1988 Mute Records, a BMG Company.

Added 22 Jun 2026