The Mercy Seat

Nick Cave and the bad seeds

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.