The Lyre of Orpheus lyrics

Orpheus sat gloomy in his garden shed

Wondering what to do

With a lump of wood, a piece of wire

And a little pot of glue

O Mamma O Mamma

He sawed at the wood with half a heart

And glued it top to bottom

He strung a wire in between

He was feeling something rotten

O Mamma O Mamma

Orpheus looked at his instrument

And he gave the wire a pluck

He heard a sound so beautiful

He gasped and said O my God

O Mamma O Mamma

He rushed inside to tell his wife

He went racing down the halls

Eurydice was still asleep in bed

Like a sack of cannonballs

O Mamma O Mamma

Look what I’ve made, cried Orpheus

And he plucked a gentle note

Eurydice’s eyes popped from their sockets

And her tongue burst through her throat

O Mamma O Mamma

O God, what have I done, he said

As her blood pooled in the sheets

But in his heart he felt a bliss

With which nothing could compete

O Mamma O Mamma

Orpheus went leaping through the fields

Strumming as hard as he did please

Birdies detonated in the sky

Bunnies dashed their brains out on the trees

O Mamma O Mamma

Orpheus strummed till his fingers bled

He hit a G minor 7

He woke up God from a deep, deep sleep

God was a major player in heaven

O Mamma O Mamma

God picked up a giant hammer

And He threw it with a thunderous yell

It smashed down hard on Orpheus’ head

And knocked him down a well

O Mamma O Mamma

The well went down very deep

Very deep went down the well

The well went down so very deep

Well, the well went down to hell

O Mamma O Mamma

Poor Orpheus woke up with a start

All amongst the rotting dead

His lyre tucked safe under his arm

His brains all down his head

O Mamma O Mamma

Eurydice appeared brindled in blood

And she said to Orpheus

If you play that fucking thing down here

I’ll stick it up your orifice!

O Mamma O Mamma

This lyre lark is for the birds, said Orpheus

It’s enough to send you bats

Let’s stay down here, Eurydice, dear

And we’ll have a bunch of screaming brats

O Mamma O Mamma

Orpheus picked up his lyre for the last time

He was on a real low down bummer

And stared deep into the abyss and said

This one is for Mamma

O Mamma O Mamma

O Mamma O Mamma

• Artist:Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
• Album:Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)