Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Lyrics Meaning – Unveiling the Layers of Resurrection and Downfall

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds's Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

[Dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Back in that hole.]

Larry made his nest up in the autumn branches
Built from nothing but high hopes and thin air
He collected up some baby-blasted mothers, they took their chances
And for a while they lived quite happily up there

He came from New York City, man, but he couldn’t take the pace
He thought it was like dog eat dog world
Then he went to San Francisco, spent a year in outer space
With a sweet little San Fransiscan girl

I can hear my mother wailing and a whole lot of scraping of chairs
I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something going on upstairs

[Dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
(I want you to dig)

[Back in that hole]

(I want you to dig)

(I want you to dig)

Yeah, New York City, he had to get out there
And San Fransisco, well, I don’t know
And then to L.A., where he spent about a day
He thought even the pale sky-stars were smart enough to keep well away from L.A.

Meanwhile Larry made up names for the ladies
Like miss Boo and miss Quick
He stockpiled weapons and took potshots in the air
He feasted on their lovely bodies like a lunatic
And wrapped himself up in their soft yellow hair

I can hear chants and incantations and some guy is mentioning me in his prayers
Well, I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something going on upstairs

[Dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
(I want you to dig)
[Back in that hole]

(I want you to dig)

(I want you to dig)

Well, New York City, man, San Francisco, LA, I don’t know
But Larry grew increasingly neurotic and obscene
I mean he, he never asked to be raised up from the tomb
I mean no one ever actually asked him to forsake his dreams

Anyway, to cut a long story short
Fame finally found him, mirrors became his torturers
Cameras snapped him at every chance
The women all went back to their homes and their husbands
With secret smiles in the corners of their mouths

He ended up like so many of them do, back on the streets of New York City
In a soup queue, a dopefiend, a slave, then prison, then the madhouse, then the grave
Ah, poor Larry

But what do we really know of the dead
And who actually cares?

Well, I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something going on upstairs

[Dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
(I want you to dig)
[Back in that hole]

[Dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
[Laz’rus dig yourself]
(I want you to dig)
[Back in that hole]

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ provocative anthem ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ is a raucous exploration of resurrection and downfall. Within the stormy riffs and Cave’s baritone preach, the narrative traces the biblical Lazarus thrust into a contemporary limbo, struggling against the throes of modern urban life.

The song is a maelstrom of cultural references, religious iconography, and personal lament, illustrating a tale of crumbling aspirations amidst the pressure of reinvention. It’s a track that relentlessly spins the listener into deep contemplation, beneath its cloak of rhythmic ferocity.

Resurrecting Lazarus in the 21st Century – A Modern Misfit’s Tale

With ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’, Cave deploys the powerful image of Lazarus not as a saintly figure reinvigorated by divine intervention, but as an everyman, ‘Larry’, ensnared in the ceaseless churn of city life. The autumn branches and the thin air are metaphors for high hopes built on unstable foundations, a common human predicament in the face of societal pressures.

The journey through New York, San Francisco, and L.A. isn’t just geographical; it’s a pilgrimage through the psyche of a person who’s been revived only to face the unrelenting demand to ‘dig’ back into the life he once knew, a cycle of existential despair that resonates with the listener.

The Chorus Trap: The Unending Toil of Existence

The thrumming mantra-like chorus, ‘Dig yourself, Lazarus, dig yourself,’ serves as a grinding reminder of life’s continual labor. It’s a stark contrast to the biblical story, where Lazarus’ resurrection is a moment of awe and wonder. Here, the miracle becomes a Sisyphean curse, with resurrection leading to a mundane repetition rather than transcendence.

The repetition of the chorus hammers home the futility and weariness of a comeback without purpose. Cave forces the audience to consider the cost of such a revival, probing at the darker underbelly of what it truly means to be ‘brought back.’

The Grotesque waltz with Fame and Descent

Cave doesn’t shy away from the grotesque as he details Larry’s lurid decline. From ‘baby-blasted mothers’ to ‘soft yellow hair’, he invokes chilling imagery of a man losing himself to the intoxication of hedonism. This waltz with excess paints a vivid portrait of the dangers lying in wait when identity is lost to the performance of living. The seedy undercurrents of urban sprawl serve as the perfect backdrop for this moral disintegration.

Larry’s ultimately doomed courtship with fame and weaponry is a potent metaphor for the public’s appetite for the destruction of its idols. The specter of voyeurism through ‘mirrors’ and ‘cameras’ critiques the media’s obsession with celebrity decline, a prescient commentary in today’s Instagram age.

The Exhumation of Hidden Meanings – A Rebuke of Cultural Necrophilia

At its core, ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ is not merely a song but also a cultural rebuke. Cave propels Lazarus into a critique of modernity, questioning society’s ghoulish fascination with resuscitating that which should be left to rest. The track dares to ask: To what end do we seek to resurrect, and at what point does the revival become a parody of itself?

This philosophical excavation unveils a hidden meaning; a commentary on the cyclical nature of fame and redemption. The ‘soup queue, dopefiend, slave’ progression eloquently chronicles the interplay between resurrection, exploitation, and the ultimate anonymity that waits for everyone, raising essential questions about the value society places on life, death, and the space between.

Memorable Lines that Haunt and Taunt: ‘I don’t know what it is, but there’s definitely something going on upstairs’

This refrain epitomizes the mystery and ethereal nature of existence that Cave so proficiently etches into our consciousness. It’s a line that suggests a world beyond our comprehension — ‘upstairs’ signifies a place we aim for, where hopes revolve, but cannot stay. It has a dual meaning, the ‘upstairs’ both a place of heavenly aspiration and the maddened mind. Among all of Cave’s crafty verses, this haunting admission of uncertainty shows a vulnerability and an admission of human limitation, a striking contrast to the commanding choruses admonishing Lazarus to dig.

It reinforces the poignant message that anchors the song. Despite the bravado and noise, there exists an underlying layer, a constant awareness of forces at play beyond our control. Even as we ‘dig,’ we are haunted by the intangible, the unseen, our futures wrapped in mystery. Cave’s song leaves us echoing his words, pondering the complexities twining through the chords of this earth-shaking track.