Curse of Millhaven /Przeklenstwo Millhaven - Nick Cave - Kinga Preis

With the recent documentary on Robin Bain on NZ television. I thought I would revisit the murder song genre and it is hard to go past Nick Cave's contribution to murder songs. He had an album dedicated to them... simply called "Murder ballads" and it was great. Some critics thought it was tacky at the time. But they either didn't see the funny side of it as well as the artistic merit. It was full of great songs, regardless of the subject matter. He even re-wrote the Stagger Lee legend with his tongue firmly in his cheek. One of my favourites was "The Curse Of Millhaven" partly because it was similar to the novel that his band 'The Bad Seeds' were actually named after. The novel I am talking about is 'The Bad Seed' by William March and is one of my favourite novels. It was also made into a movie in 1956, which is also worth tracking down. Although, I'm not sure if it is available on DVD in NZ. Loretta from the song and Rhoda from the book, were very similar and I wonder if Nick Cave wrote the song with Rhoda in mind. The video below is a live version by Nick Cave. However, the story itself may not come through so well, so I have included the lyrics further down the page. While I was putting this blog together I found a great version by Polish actress Kinga Preis and I just had to add it here. Her performance is exceptional with her acting skills coming to the fore. It is from a live album of Nick Cave songs translated into Polish.... which actually features him on a couple of tracks. If you are a Bitter FM listener you would know that language is no barrier regarding the songs we play. So we will be adding some of these Polish versions real soon. You can probably tell, by the length of this blog, how much I love this song and the 'Murder ballads' album. Forget CSI and the like, download or buy this now.

Nick Cave Live


I found this photo of Paul the psychic octopus recently and thought it was appropriate to add it to this blog.




Above is the Kinga Preis version.

Lyrics below....

I live in a town called Millhaven
And it's small and it's mean and it's cold
But if you come around just as the sun goes down
You can watch the whole town turn to gold
It's around about then that I used to go a-roaming
Singing "La la la la La la la lie"
All God's children they all gotta die

My name is Loretta but I prefer Lottie
I'm closing in on my fifteenth year
And if you think you have seen a pair of eyes more green
Then you sure didn't see them around here
My hair is yellow and I'm always a-combing
La la la la La la la lie
Mama often told me we all got to die

You must have heard about The Curse Of Millhaven
How last Christmas Bill Blake's little boy didn't come home
They found him next week in One Mile Creek
His head bashed in and his pockets full of stones
Well, just imagine all the wailing and moaning
La la la la La la la lie
Even little Billy Blake's boy, he had to die

Then Professor O'Rye from Millhaven High
Found nailed to his door his prize-winning terrier
Then next day the old fool brought little Biko to school
And we all had to watch as he buried her
His eulogy to Biko had all the tears a-flowing
La la la la La la la lie
Even God's little creatures, they have to die

Our little town fell into a state of shock
A lot of people were saying things that made little sense
Then the next thing you know the head of Handyman Joe
Was found in the fountain of the Mayor's residence
Foul play can really get a small town going
La la la la La la la lie
Even God's children all have to die

Then, in a cruel twist of fate, old Mrs Colgate
Was stabbed but the job was not complete
The last thing she said before the cops pronounced her dead
Was, "My killer is Loretta and she lives across the street!"
Twenty cops burst through my door without even phoning
La la la la La la la lie
The young ones, the old ones, they all gotta die

Yes, it is I, Lottie. The Curse Of Millhaven
I've struck horror in the heart of this town
Like my eyes ain't green and my hair ain't yellow
It's more like the other way around
I gotta pretty little mouth underneath all the foaming
La la la la La la la lie
Sooner or later we all gotta die

Since I was no bigger than a weavil they've been saying I
was evil
That if bad was a boot that I'd fit it
That I'm a wicked young lady, but I've been trying hard lately
Oh, fuck it! I'm a monster! I admit it!
It makes me so mad my blood really starts a-going
La la la la La la la lie
Mama always told me that we all gotta die

Yeah, I drowned the Blakey kid, stabbed Mrs. Colgate, I admit
Did the handyman with his circular saw in his garden shed
But I never crucified little Biko, that was
two junior high school psychos
Stinky Bohoon and his friend with the pumpkin-sized head
I'll sing to the lot, now you got me going
La la la la La la la lie
All God's children have all gotta die

There were all the others, all our sisters and brothers
You assumed were accidents, best forgotten
Recall the children who broke through the ice on Lake Tahoo?
Everyone assumed the Warning signs had
followed them to the bottom
Well, they're underneath the house where I do quite a bit
of stowing
La la la la La la la lie
Even twenty little children, they had to die

And the fire of '91 that razed the Bella Vista slum
There was the biggest shit-fight this country's ever seen
Insurance companies ruined, land lords getting sued
All cause of wee girl with a can of gasoline
Those flames really roared when the wind started blowing
La la la la La la la lie
Rich man, poor man, all got to die

Well I confessed to all these crimes and they put me on
trial
I was laughing when they took me away
Off to the asylum in an old black Mariah
It ain't home, but you know, it's fucking better than jail
It ain't such bad old place to have a home in
La la la la La la la lie
All God's children they all gotta die

Now I got shrinks that will not rest with their endless
Rorschach tests
I keep telling them they're out to get me
They ask me if I feel remorse and I answer, "Why of course!
There is so much more I could have done if they'd let me!"
So it's Rorschach and Prozac and everything is groovy
Singing La la la la La la la lie
All God's children they all have to die

La la la la La la la lie
I'm happy as a lark and everything is fine

Singing La la la la La la la lie
Yeah, everything is groovy and everything is fine
Singing La la la la La la la lie
All God's children they gotta die