The Lyre Of Orpheus

by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

From the album: The Abattoir Blues Tour

Track 5 of 45 on The Abattoir Blues Tour (2007).

Duration: 4:33

The Abattoir Blues Tour cover art

Lyrics for The Lyre Of Orpheus

Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed Wondering what to do With a lump of wood, a piece of wire And a little pot of glue O Mamma O Mamma He sawed at the wood with half a heart And glued it top to bottom He strung a wire in between He was feeling something rotten O Mamma O Mamma Orpheus looked at his instrument And he gave the wire a pluck He heard a sound so beautiful He gasped and said O my God O Mamma O Mamma He rushed inside to tell his wife He went racing down the halls Eurydice was still asleep in bed Like a sack of cannonballs O Mamma O Mamma Look what I've made, cried Orpheus And he plucked a gentle note Eurydice's eyes popped from their sockets And her tongue burst through her throat O Mamma O Mamma O God, what have I done, he said As her blood pooled in the sheets But in his heart he felt a bliss With which nothing could compete O Mamma O Mamma Orpheus went leaping through the fields Strumming as hard as he did please Birdies detonated in the sky Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees O Mamma O Mamma Orpheus strummed till his fingers bled He hit a G minor 7 He woke up God from a deep, deep sleep God was a major player in heaven O Mamma O Mamma God picked up a giant hammer And He threw it with an thunderous yell It smashed down hard on Orpheus' head And knocked him down a well O Mamma O Mamma The well went down very deep Very deep went down the well The well went down so very deep Well, the well went down to hell O Mamma O Mamma Poor Orpheus woke up with a start All amongst the rotting dead His lyre tacked safe under his arm His brains all down his head O Mamma O Mamma Eurydice appeared brindled in blood And she said to Orpheus If you play that fucking thing down here I'll stick it up your orifice! O Mamma O Mamma This lyre lark is for the birds, said Orpheus It's enough to send you bats Let's stay down here, Eurydice, dear And we'll have a bunch of screaming brats O Mamma O Mamma Orpheus picked up his lyre for the last time He was on a real low down bummer And stared deep into the abyss and said This one is for Mamma O Mamma O Mamma O Mamma O Mamma

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More from The Abattoir Blues Tour

  1. Hiding All Away
  2. Messiah Ward
  3. Easy Money
  4. Supernaturally
  5. The Lyre Of Orpheus
  6. Babe, You Turn Me On
  7. Nature Boy
  8. Get Ready For Love
  9. Carry Me
  10. There She Goes, My Beautiful World
  11. God Is In The House
  12. Red Right Hand
  13. The Ship Song
  14. Stagger Lee
  15. Wonderful Life
  16. Nobody's Baby Now
  17. Bring It On
  18. Sad Waters
  19. Watching Alice
  20. Christina The Astonishing
  21. Wild World
  22. The "Bring It On" Shoot
  23. Bring It On
  24. Babe, I'm On Fire
  25. Nature Boy
  26. Breathless
  27. Get Ready For Love
  28. Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus, A Short Film
  29. O Children
  30. Hiding All Away
  31. Breathless
  32. Get Ready For Love
  33. Red Right Hand
  34. The Ship Song
  35. The Weeping Song
  36. Stagger Lee
  37. Carry Me
  38. Let The Bells Ring
  39. Easy Money
  40. Supernaturally
  41. Babe, You Turn Me On
  42. There She Goes, My Beautiful World
  43. God Is In The House
  44. Deanna
  45. Lay Me Low