A Box for Black Paul (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)

Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Ah'm enquirin on behalf of his soul Ah'd be beholdin to ya all For a lil information, just a little indication Just who'll dig the hole? When ya done ransackin' his room grabbin any damn thing that shines, throw the scraps down on the street Like all his books and his notes. All his books and his notes and All the junk that he wrote the whole fucken lot right up in smoke Ain't there nuthin sacred anymore Won't someone will build a box for Black Paul? And their shootin off his guns and their shootin off their mouths saying 'Fuck with us ... and die!' 'Fuck with us ... and die!' (Let's see that rat of fear go scuttle in their skulls) 'Cover that eye! Cover that frozen eye!' Black-puppet, in a heap up against the stoning-wall Black-puppet, go to sleep, ma-ma won't scold ya anymore Armies of ants, wade up the lil red streams they're headin for the mother-pool O lord, it's cruel! O man it's hot! O man it's hot and And some of them ants they just climb to the spot Who threw the first stone at Black Paul? 'Don't ask us', say the critics and the hacks The pen-pushers and the quacks 'We jes cum to git dah facks!' 'We jes cum to git dah facks!' Hey, hey, hey, hey... Here is the hammer, that built the scaffold, and built the box... Here is the shovel, that dug the hole, in this ground of rocks... And here is the pile of stones! and for each one planted, God only knows, a blood-rose grown... These are the true Demon-Flowers! These are the true Demon-Flowers! Stand back everyone! Blood-black everyone! Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Who'll carry it up the hill? 'Not I', said the widow, adjusting her veil 'Ah will not drive the nail Or cart his puppet-body home, For ah done that one hundred times before, Yeah! ah done that one hundred times or more, And why should ah dress his wounds? When he has wounded my dress, nightly, Right across the floor' Who'll build a box for Black Paul? Who'll carry it up the hill? Who'll bury it in the black-soil? And from the woods and the thickets Come the ghosts of his victims 'We love you!' 'Ah love you!' 'and this will not hurt a bit, Outta my eyes was your rise to full glory Spring up from the corp of life We'll go up, up, up, up, up into Death up, up, up, up, inhale its breath O yes, Death favours those that favor Death' Here is the stone, and this is the inscription it bare: 'Below Lies Black Paul, Under The Upper... But Above and Beyond The Surface-Flat-Fall There.' And all the angels come on down, And all you men and women crowd around And all the old widows weeping into their skirts And all the lil gals and the lil Boys And the scribes with their pens poised All the hullaballoo, all the norse All the hullaballoo, all the noise All the hullaballoo, all of the noise clears his throat of black blood singin Black Paul like a lonely boy... We-e-e-ll, ah have cried one thousand tears Ah've cried a thousand tears, its true And the next stormy night you know, That ah'm still cryin them for you Well, ah had a gal she was so sweet, Red dress, and long red hair hangin down And heaven yes ain't heaven Without that lil girl hangin around Well, ya know ah've beenn a bad-man and Lord knows ah done some good things too But ah confess, my soul will never rest Until you've, until you've build Until you've built a box for my gal, too. my gal, too my gal, too