The lead single from Tender Prey, this harrowing track finds Nick Cave taking on the persona of a death row prisoner, awaiting execution. As Cave's appointment with the electric chair gets closer, he moves from pleading his innocence to admitting his crime. During a 2017 interview with The Sun, it was suggested there's some ambiguity over the man's guilt. Cave retorted: "You mean, do I know what the f--k I'm talking about? I think that's why we can continue to play it at pretty much every concert. It remains mysterious and ambiguous but genuinely thoughtful."
The anthem of death row defiance is laden with allusions to Christianity; the mercy seat is both the electric chair and a symbol of the throne of God, where following his execution, Cave will be judged.
Johnny Cash is a man whose entire life found him hovering close to the mercy seat. He recorded a stripped back cover of this song for his 2000 album American III: Solitary Man. Cash's version is pointedly unambiguous, the death row inmate declares himself "totally innocent', as opposed to the original's "nearly wholly Innocent." "Pure Johnny Cash," said Cave to Mojo of the country legend's cover. "Been f---ed over by the system, he's an innocent man in jail, he's going to die." "I always thought it was clear that the guy did it," he continued. "What's in question is the concept of guilt and innocence, in the sense that he may have done it but that doesn't mean he's a guilty person in a broader sense. My version is more conflicted. Which is pure Nick Cave, I suppose."
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.