Top 10 Best Songs by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

The opening of The Boatman's Call. Just Nick Cave and a piano. It's a prayer from a man who doesn't believe in God, but wants to make an exception for his lover. "I don't believe in an interventionist God, but I know, darling, that you do." The lyrics are of shattering beauty and simplicity. It's about love, protection and saying goodbye. Purer and more beautiful than this, music doesn't get.

One of his most romantic songs. "Come sail your ships around me." It's about allowing love in and breaking down your defensive walls. The piano and orchestra make it stately and ceremonial. Cave sings not as a preacher, but as a lover. It's a timeless classic about devotion and vulnerability.

The unlikely hit: the alternative rocker and the pop princess. It's a beautiful murder ballad about Elisa Day who is killed by her lover by the river. Kylie sings innocently and sweetly, Nick sings darkly and lovingly. The contrast makes it chilling. A fairy tale without a happy ending, wrapped in a beautiful melody.

Everyone knows this song thanks to Peaky Blinders. The bass line is iconic, the organ is spooky and the "bell" in the percussion is ominous. It's about a mysterious figure (the devil? God?) who controls everything. Cave whispers and groans. It's cinematic, cool and creepy. The ultimate song for a dark, misty night.

The story of a man in the electric chair who maintains his innocence until the end ("I am not afraid to die"). The music builds an unbearable tension, like a heartbeat that gets faster. The strings are cacophonous and the lyrics are a brilliant mix of religious madness and fear. Johnny Cash covered it, which confirmed the status of the song.

A song that begins as a quiet story about a prostitute named Bee, but slowly transforms into a mad climax. "I'm transforming, I'm vibrating." The music swells, gets faster and more intense, until it explodes into pure energy. Live, this song is a transcendent experience where Cave rages across the stage like a shaman.

Made famous by the dance scene in Harry Potter. It's a grand, melancholic song that sounds like a waltz at the end of the world. Cave sings with a deep, warm voice about the legacy we leave for our children. "Forgive us now for what we've done." It's comforting and heartbreaking at once. A gem in his later work.

A murder ballad about a woman who kills her lover because he doesn't love her. The duet with PJ Harvey (with whom he had a relationship at the time) is magical. Their voices circle each other in a deadly dance. The music is slow and sensual. The video, shot in one take, shows the intense chemistry between them. Love and death, hand in hand.

The opening song of the atmospheric album Push the Sky Away. The beat is soft and pulsing, the flutes in the background sound like birds in a forest. The lyrics are mysterious: "We know who you are and we know where you live." It sounds lovely, but the undertone is threatening. A beautiful, hushed song about nature looking back.

A bewitching song about Elvis Presley's birth during a severe storm in Tupelo. The bass line is threatening and monotonous like thunder. Cave sounds like an Old Testament prophet predicting doom. "The King is born!" It's dark, hypnotic and full of tension. A perfect example of his early, gothic style.