Nick Cave explains story behind Ghosteen song "Night Raid"

In Cave's latest entry on The Red Hand Files Q+A site, he's asked what the Ghosteen song "Night Raid" is about, leading him to reveal that it "tells the story of the conception of our twins, Earl and Arthur".

Cave wrote: "Six hours ago I walked off stage at the Sydney Opera House after the last show of our Australian tour, a deeply affecting affair that has left me with the forlorn feeling of saying goodbye to an old friend. Tomorrow I fly back to London.

"Alice, last night, before we played Night Raid, I mentioned to the audience that you had written in to The Red Hand Files, asking about the song. I tried to speak more clearly about its meaning, but it was an emotional night and I became overwhelmed and couldn’t quite get through the explanation. So I will try again.

"Put simply, "Night Raid" tells the story of the conception of our twins, Earl and Arthur, twenty three years ago, on our honeymoon, in room 33 of a hotel in New Orleans. I understand that it is probably a slightly dubious premise for a song, but like a lot of songs from Ghosteen the words just arrived from some other place, with considerable force, and demanded to be taken seriously. In "Night Raid", not without a certain amount of humour, the ordinary human act of carnal love takes on a quasi-mystical status as both an act of creation – the actual conception of the children – and also a poetic retelling of the incident as a cherished and innocent memory seen through the lens of the experienced and calamitous present."

After breaking down individual lyrics and expanding on their meaning, Cave wrote that he believes "Night Raid" is "Ghosteen’s great love song."

He continued: "But what is "Night Raid" actually trying to say? Perhaps the song attempts to present the idea that the everyday human gesture is always a heartbeat away from the miraculous – that ultimately we make things happen through our actions, way beyond our understanding or intention; that our seemingly small ordinary human acts have untold consequences; that what we do in this world means something; that we are not nothing; and that our most quotidian human actions by their nature burst the seams of our intent and spill meaningfully and radically through time and space, changing everything. "Night Raid" tells us that our deeds, no matter how insignificant they may feel, are replete with meaning, and of vast consequence, and that they constantly impact upon the unfolding story of the world, whether we know it or not.

"In "Night Raid" the common act of love initiates a journey through time that holds enormous consequence, that continues to impact upon the world – even now as I write to you, at five in the morning, after a show at the Sydney Opera House. All action provokes change. Nothing is ineffectual. Nothing."