LogFAQs > #954954107

179. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Into My Arms (1997)
from the album The Boatmans Call

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnHoqHscTKE

Key lyrics:
And I dont believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you, I wonder if thats true

Into My Arms is far from a standard Nick Cave song. Better known for the gothic rock of his early era or his more experimental works during the 21st century, this song is disarmingly simple. Here, Nick Cave uses nothing but a piano and electric bass for a touching love ballad. Much like The Cure and their pop ditties, these deep emotions have an extra air of authenticity when coming from someone who usually sings from a darker place. The key element here is how specific Cave gets in the descriptions of his love.

With the sparse instrumentation, the focus is entirely on Caves lyrics, where he has always excelled but hits a high note here. Nick Cave frames his love in religious terms. While this is a common lens for many love songs, the distinction here is that Nick Cave sings from an atheistic perspective. While starting every verse by noting his lack of belief, he then meets his religious lover halfway he might not believe, but he will speak in the terms she finds soothing. While so much media portrays atheists with condescending attitudes toward religious folk, Cave expresses something genuine and humanist about that divide. He might not believe, but he recognizes the spiritual significance of these ideas and uses a unifying element to express his love.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/