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Red Right Hand Lyrics

Artist: Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
Album: Best of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Take a litle walk to the edge of town
Go across the tracks
Where the viaduct looms,
like a bird of doom
As it shifts and cracks
Where secrets lie in the border fires,
in the humming wires
Hey man, you know
you're never coming back
Past the square, past the bridge,
past the mills, past the stacks
On a gathering storm comes
a tall handsome man
In a dusty black coat with
a red right hand

He'll wrap you in his arms,
tell you that you've been a good boy
He'll rekindle all the dreams
it took you a lifetime to destroy
He'll reach deep into the hole,
heal your shrinking soul
Hey buddy, you know you're
never ever coming back
He's a god, he's a man,
he's a ghost, he's a guru
They're whispering his name
through this disappearing land
But hidden in his coat
is a red right hand

You ain't got no money?
He'll get you some
You ain't got no car? He'll get you one
You ain't got no self-respect,
you feel like an insect
Well don't you worry buddy,
cause here he comes
Through the ghettos and the barrio
and the bowery and the slum
A shadow is cast wherever he stands
Stacks of green paper in his
red right hand

(Organ solo)

You'll see him in your nightmares,
you'll see him in your dreams
He'll appear out of nowhere but
he ain't what he seems
You'll see him in your head,
on the TV screen
And hey buddy, I'm warning
you to turn it off
He's a ghost, he's a god,
he's a man, he's a guru
You're one microscopic cog
in his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by
his red right hand

(Organ solo)

Extra verse from DJ Spooky Remix (From Scream 2 Soundtrack):
He'll extend his hand, real slowly for a shake
You'll see it coming toward you, real slowly for a shake
(Grabbing at your peril buddy?) cause you know you ain't
getting near much as he will take.

He's a...

He's mumbling words you can't understand
He's mumbling word behind his red right hand.

Comments/Interpretations
by gabriel on 6/18/2008 12:25am wut the hell is this song about?
by Brown left hand on 6/24/2008 10:34pm He's singin' about the evils of the false preachers of Jesus!
by Lolwut on 7/6/2008 10:51pm Hes singing about the devil. The song is adapted from a poem called paradise lost. its about the war between god and satan, the fall of man from eden and such. The "Red right hand" is a direct qoute from it.
by mike on 7/13/2008 4:49am according to paradise lost, satan supposedly weilds a red right hand
by Hellboy on 7/15/2008 2:49pm you ever see the movie Hellboy! this song is in the soundtrack!
by Ashley on 8/9/2008 12:27am The devil? I thought it was about a like... gunslinger. -shrug-
by CSM on 8/10/2008 8:39am In my own mind, he is speaking of so-called "extraordinary men." Look up the Cigarette-Smoking Man, a fictional character from The X-Files.
by diane on 8/11/2008 8:31am its obvious hes talking about the devils red right hand if you listen to other Nick Cave songs it gets mentioned quite often.Red right hand from Paradise Lost
by CSM on 8/13/2008 1:19pm not disputing that, but the song also lends itself to the Smoking Man.
by Nick Cave on 9/4/2008 12:04am Actually, it is about a man with a birthmark on his hand going to buy a trenchcoat in a gentlemans outfitters next to a church
by Jon on 9/4/2008 10:45am It is indeed from Paradise Lost. But! It is God, not the Devil, who has a red right hand. Paradise is indeed lost.
by malachi on 9/12/2008 6:42am you guys keep on talkin about things you dont even understand
by Justice on 10/13/2008 3:53pm Malachi needs to get slapped with a red right hand!
by calambre on 10/16/2008 8:35pm nice song!! nick cave is a master ahahah great post justice
by The Devil on 10/23/2008 9:07pm I fucked a millionairess to this song.
by The Devil (but better) on 10/31/2008 12:33pm i fuck millionairess' all the time. and their mothers...
by The Devil (but best) on 11/3/2008 6:55am I'm actually a millionairess, and I fuck myself.
by sisters of mercy on 11/13/2008 2:20pm he's talking about our Conscience...whoever or whatever it may be. that 'one' that leads us to say, do or die...
by karate kick ya in the face on 11/26/2008 2:19pm this song is covered in hellboy by pete yorn
by Ildrin on 12/5/2008 4:02pm Khaine, the bloody handed god, Eldar and Elves
by amcaat on 12/7/2008 12:58pm i'm with somercy on this one. the paradise lost reference doesn't take away from the listeners ability to imagine this character as a "bad business decision", a criminal enterprise (like a gang) or even as Suge Knight.
by liz on 12/7/2008 2:07pm wow? i just looked it up cuz its in hellboy and hellboy is the shit and my name is actually liz im not just putting a fake name so im like hb's gf lol.... just wanted to clarify good day
by teOp on 12/11/2008 11:59pm me thinks it abouta child abuser
by Devil Jones on 12/14/2008 7:57pm I know it's from "Paradise lost" but i like to think that he's talking about false comunists hidding a fascist "red right hand" under their clothes.
by Whats going on? on 12/17/2008 5:59pm the song was in other movies besides Hellboy. The song is the main theme in all of the Scream movies by Wes Craven
by The Darkness on 12/18/2008 10:38pm It's about the Devil, Paradise lost, Satan giving man his desires, It's About the Anti-hero.
by Heyguy on 1/3/2009 9:47am The song is referring to the man murdering someone. The red on his hand is referring to blood while never coming back refers to dying. He's feared in the land because he is a murderer
by jay sixual on 1/15/2009 10:29am I just saw him live in Brisbane today, he is a god himself. But it is obviously a reference to Paradise Lost and also references any kind of shady dealing characters with hidden evil intentions. But Cave is sexy...
by Beetle Juice on 1/23/2009 3:16am yessss very sexy indeed!
by Buckethead on 2/8/2009 10:23pm like all songs it is open to interpretation.
by Mark F on 2/12/2009 7:33am Not the church on Pont St Knightsbridge by any chance?
by GuesssWho on 2/15/2009 8:45pm In Paradise Lost, God has the red right hand. Nevertheless, this seems to be about the Antichrist. Or maybe it's Jesus, but God is evil?
by That One Guy on 2/16/2009 3:27am Duh, it's about a guy who gives handjobs down by the train tracks.
by j0nny on 3/9/2009 2:07am The Red Right Hand refers to the vengeance of God.
by Piper2 on 3/10/2009 2:27pm It is a direct quote from 'Paradise Lost' and the Red Right hand is God's hand. ---
by Piper3 on 4/6/2009 9:12pm "He's a God, He's Man, He's a Ghost, He's a Guru." Sounds like the holy Trinity to me. I feel like it's a distinctly American riff on Jesus/God mythology. "Through the Ghetto and the Bowery, and the barrio and the slum" is another reference to Jesus and his association with the poor. Except this association is inverted and recontextualized. It's wonderful and brilliant.
by the crooked man on 4/12/2009 5:18pm i believe its about milton's "paradise lost" but if you read the "book of lost things" by author john connoly it syncs perfectly with the antagonist the crooked man...now having said that connoly has said theyre were influences from john milton so there ya go
by Jessica on 6/11/2009 11:25pm Huh. You know, somebody dropped this CD in my yard, so I listened. I thought it was about Obama. : D Who I voted for, but now that he's escalating the war, I think he's not what he seems, and he's got blood on his hands. Which are holding stacks of green paper, right? Also, everyone treated him like he was a God, a man, a guru. Oh well. Apparantly the song is older than that.
by Pablo_Roberto on 6/20/2009 6:16am You're all idiots!
by still on 6/20/2009 7:25am nick cave is australian so its not about american politics, its so mythic it can be about anything where there is hidden motive and dark hungers
by enrique on 8/21/2009 7:05am red right hand refers to the vengeful hand of god, but he is singing about the fallen angel, satan, which is also a part of paradise lost
by Shalla on 9/8/2009 10:02pm What if the breath that kindled those grim fires, Awaked, should blow them into sevenfold rage, And plunge us in the flames; or from above Should intermitted vengeance arm again His red right hand to plague us? .. Direct quote from Paradise lost, book 2. In reference to GOD.
by Yiani on 9/9/2009 2:35am There's an error in the lyric of verse 2 lines 7&8 where it reads: "Hey buddy, you know you're never ever coming back", however it should read: "But there won't be a single thing that you can do"...
by :D on 9/16/2009 1:36am I thought this song was about Santa. my bad.
by Poe on 9/17/2009 12:47am More things in Heaven and Earth .....
by Nodeva flickr on 10/2/2009 5:02am Give me back the Berlin wall, Give me Stalin and St. Paul, I have see the Future baby, it's murder!
by Jens on 10/6/2009 2:56pm As said a few times before the "Red right hand" is a reference the darker side of God ("A shadow is cast wherever he stands") or, if it pleases you, to Creation in which evil exists while humanity waits for Heaven on Earth. Thus the red right hand is a part of God, since he is allmighty in a flawed world. The reference "Gods red right hand" in Paradise Lost is only one in a long row of similar images (sorry if my english lacks some finesse here) still Cave makes other references to this book (see Song of Joy for an example). You could say it refers to the punishing God of the Old Testament (contrary to the loving God Jesus talked about). Still, what Nick Cave, though both a christian and a scholar (well, I would say he is), means I guess only he knows. I bet there are university papers written on this subject.
by Tolik from Ukraine) on 10/7/2009 2:49am think it's about much more than superstitions. it's about power of money in our societies and 'catastrophic plan' of governments and financial groups or whoever stands behind them. It is also about brainwashing and propaganda: 'You'll see him in your head, on the TV screen And hey buddy, I'm warning you to turn it off He's a ghost, he's a god, he's a man, he's a guru' also in: 'He'll wrap you in his arms, tell you that you've been a good boy He'll rekindle all the dreams it took you a lifetime to destroy'
by Ghett0 Rocker on 10/15/2009 4:07pm Who the hell said he's talking about god, clearly hes speaking about the devil. I mean your mother reading you those kids books when you were five could explain that for you :/
by Crow on 10/15/2009 10:02pm my interpretation: It seems like a comparison of what the Kindly New Testament promises vs. what the vengeful Old Testament dictates. You'll see God and the Savior every where you look, on tv, in charities, promising you Heaven if you just believe in him (and send your donations for your penance and redemption, so we can do good works with it), but the truth is, you're never getting back into Heaven/Eden, due to God's Red Right Hand of vengence and the fact that he has other plans for you than what the evangelists are preaching.
by Demonhybrid on 10/25/2009 9:00pm I have no idea what this song is about. I just thought it was a funny song which a heard in the movie cirque du freak. Playing along to the movie in a grave yard scene.

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