The Mercy Seat Lyrics by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds

The Mercy Seat 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 meals
    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 truth.
    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 i
    Tatooed 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
    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 rebel blood.

    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 truth.
    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 burning
    And i think my head is glowing
    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 glowing
    And i think my head is smoking
    And in a way i'm hoping
    To be done with all this looks of disbelief.
    An eye for an eye
    And a tooth for a tooth
    And anyway there was no proof
    Nor a motive why.

    And the mercy seat is smoking
    And i think my head is melting
    And in a way i'm helping
    To be done with all this twisted of the truth.
    A lie for a lie
    And a truth for a truth
    And i've got nothing left to lose
    And i'm not afraid to die.

    And the mercy seat is melting
    And i think my blood is boiling
    And in a way i'm spoiling
    All the fun with all this truth and consequence.
    An eye for an eye
    And a truth for a truth
    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 life for a life
    And a truth for a truth
    And anyway there was no proof
    But i'm not afraid to tell a 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 truth.
    An eye for an eye
    And a truth for a truth
    And anyway i told the truth
    But i'm afraid i told a lie.

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