The eerie song Lightning Bolts from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ new album pays homage to Zeus, but more significantly looks at the current crisis facing Greece.
With lyrics like “In Athens all the youths are crying from the gas, I am by the hotel room working on a tan” Nick Cave describes the lightning bolts as “gifts from Zeus”.
In another lyric, he states: “Zeus laughs but it’s the gas, He asks me how I am, I say Zeus don’t ask. My lightning bolts are jolts of joy, They are joy boys from Zeus.”
Synonymous for his dark music and poignant lyrics, Nick Cave delivers with this: “And in the cradle of democracy the pigeons are wearing gas masks.”
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are incredibly popular in Greece, with the band touring quite often. The Bad Seed drummer, Jim Sclavunos has a Greek background. The band is also connected to the legendary Greek lyra player Psarandonis, who Nick Cave personally asked for the artist to tour when they curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Australia in 2010.
View the song Lightning Bolts below: