Cover art for Avalanche by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Jun. 18, 19841 viewer9.6K views

Avalanche Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I stepped into an avalanche
It covered up my soul
When I am not this hunchback that you see
I sleep beneath a golden hill
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn, learn to serve me well

[Verse 2]
You strike my side by accident
As you go down for your goal
The cripple here that you clothe and feed
Is neither starved nor cold
He does not ask for your company
Not at the centre, the centre of the world

[Verse 3]
When I am on a pedestal
You did not raise me there
Your laws do not compel me now
To kneel grotesque and bare
I myself am the pedestal
For this ugly hump at which you stare

[Verse 4]
You who wish to conquer pain
You must learn what makes me kind
The crumbs of love that you offer me
They're the crumbs I've left behind
Your pain is no credential here
It's just a shadow, shadow of my wound
[Verse 5]
I have begun to long for you
I who have no greed
I have begun to ask for you
I who have no need
You say you've gone away from me
But I can feel you, feel you when you breathe

[Verse 6]
Do not dress in those rags for me
I know you are not poor
And don't love me quite so fiercely now
When you know that you are not sure
It is your turn, my beloved one
It is your flesh that I wear

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Genius Annotation

The opening track to the Bad Seeds first album, this Leonard Cohen cover is one of the bands most powerful songs, establishing the ominous vocals and style that would become distinctive of the Bad Seeds.

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Release Date
June 18, 1984
Avalanche Is A Cover Of
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