Deanna (song) explained

Deanna
Type:single
Artist:Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Album:Tender Prey
B-Side:"The Girl at the Bottom of My Glass"
Released:5 September 1988
Genre:Garage rock[1]
Length:3:45
Label:Mute
Prev Title:The Mercy Seat
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:The Ship Song
Next Year:1990

"Deanna" is a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.[2] [3] It is the second single from their 1988 album Tender Prey.[4] An acoustic version of the song opens the 2005 compilation B-sides & Rarities and includes phrases from the Edwin Hawkins Singers' song Oh Happy Day on which the song was based.[5]

Inspiration

Biographer Ian Johnston claimed that Deanna was a woman Nick Cave had recently had a "passionate, intense relationship with".[6] Cave later said the song is "seen as a particularly brutal act of betrayal, and thirty years on I still haven’t been fully forgiven. I console myself with the thought that I was unflinching in my duties as a songwriter, even though it broke a heart (or two) in the process."[7]

Recording

Initial recording was done at Vielklang Studios, near the Berlin Wall. Producer Tony Cohen said, ""Deanna" was a loose idea Nick had for a song. He fiddled around with a Hammond organ while Mick hit a floor tom. It wasn't meant for the record. Drums were recorded over the top and the track grew."[8]

"The Girl at the Bottom of My Glass"

The B-side of "Deanna" is "The Girl at the Bottom of My Glass", recorded for but not released on Tender Prey.[9] It remained unreleased on an album until 2005, with the release of B-Sides & Rarities.

Reception

AllMusic called the song, "a garage rock-style rave-up that lyrically is everything Natural Born Killers tried to be, but failed at -- killing sprees, Cadillacs, and carrying out the work of the Lord, however atypically".[10] Stereogum noted, "the irresistible, danceable sway of the organ and drumbeat distract - if only momentarily - from such lines as 'I cum a death’s head into your frock'".[11]

The Quietus wrote, "The rousing garage pop of "Deanna" would quickly become one of Cave's best-known songs (it was almost 'radio friendly') and a live favourite. The track was based on a version of Edwin Hawkins' "Oh Happy Day". The lyrics were particularly memorable."[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tender Prey – Nick Cave / Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds . . . 24 January 2011 . Raggett . Ned .
  2. News: Basking in eclectic glow of Cave light. Murfett. Andrew. 8 January 2009. The Age. 19 May 2010.
  3. Web site: Nick Cave dedicates career-spanning Glastonbury set to Farrah Fawcett. 28 June 2009. New Musical Express. 19 May 2010.
  4. Web site: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Tender Prey / The Good Son / Henry's Dream Review. Diver. Mike. 18 March 2010. British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 May 2010.
  5. Web site: The Quietus . An Eye For An Eye: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' Tender Prey Revisited. John . Freeman .
  6. Book: Johnston, Ian . Bad Seed. 2017 . Little, Brown and Company. 978-0349107783. 237.
  7. Web site: The Red Hand Files . ISSUE #59 .
  8. Book: Tony . Cohen . John . Olson . Half Deaf, Completely Mad. 2023. 149. Black Inc. Books. 978-1-74382-308-8.
  9. Book: Johnston, Ian. Bad Seed: The Biography of Nick Cave. 2020-03-05. Little, Brown Book Group. 978-0-349-14435-1. en.
  10. Web site: AllMusic . Tender Prey. Ned . Raggett .
  11. Web site: Stereogum . Tender Prey (1988). Dan . Lawrence .
  12. Web site: The Quietus . An Eye For An Eye: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' Tender Prey Revisited. John . Freeman .
  13. Book: Lazell, Barry . Indie Hits 1980-1989 . Cherry Red Books . 1997 . 5 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110605132906/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/indiehits/c.htm . 5 June 2011 .