Scum

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' “Scum” is a non-album single detailing Nick Cave’s grievances with his former roommate, journalist Mat Snow. A reaction to Snow’s lukewarm… Read More

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Scum Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Well, I lived with one
Well, I lived with one, I lived with two
I even lived with a third
I wanna tell you about number one
He was a miserable shit-wringing turd
Like he reminded me of some evil gnome
Shakin' hands was like shakin' a hot, fat, oily bone
Holdin' on for far too long
Yes he took me in, he took me in
He said that I looked pale and thin
I told him he looked fat
His lips were red and lickin' wet
His house was roastin' hot
In fact, it was a fuckin' slum
Scum! Scum!

[Verse 2]
Well then he hooked up with some slut from the same game
Black snow! Black snow!
Cocksuckstress, and I should know
Mean and vicious, her microphone always smelled suspicious
His and herpes bath towel type
If you know what I mean
I could not look at him, worm
He'd be takin a shower and who should walk in?
He was the epitome of their type
Her middle name was Welcome, his was Wipe
Scum! Scum!

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[Verse 3]
Well, you're on the shit list
Thrust and twist, twist and screw
You gave me a bad review
And maybe you think that it's all just water under the bridge
Well my UNfriend, I'm the type that holds a grudge
I'm your creator
I think you fuckin traitor, chronic masturbator
Shit-licker, user, self-abuser, jigger jigger!
What rock did you crawl from?
Which needles(?) did you come?
You Judas, Brrrutus, Fetus, Scum!

[Verse 4]
Hey four-eyes, come
That's right, it's a gun
Face is bubble, blood, and brute street
Snowman with six holes clean into his fat fuckin guts
Psychotic drama mounts
Guts well deep then a spring is fount
I unload into his eyes
Blood springs
Dead snow
Blue skies

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About

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' “Scum” is a non-album single detailing Nick Cave’s grievances with his former roommate, journalist Mat Snow. A reaction to Snow’s lukewarm review of Cave’s earliest singles with the Bad Seeds, Cave’s vitriol covers far more than just Snow’s musical tastes, painting a grotesque and vivid picture of the man. Mat Snow himself was a fan of the song, remarking to The Guardian:

I think it’s one of his best songs, and very funny. Like Dylan’s Mr Jones, I’d rather be memorialised as the spotlit object of a genius’s scorn than a dusty discographical footnote.

The single was originally released as a Flexi disc that was sold at shows during the Bad Seeds' 1986 tour. It would later be included on the 2005 compilation B-Sides & Rarities and on the 2009 re-release of Your Funeral… My Trial.