O'malley's Bar Lyrics - Murder Ballads - Nick Cave

I am tall and I am thin 

Of an enviable hight 

And I've been known to be quite handsome 

In a certain angle and in certain light 

Well I entered into o'malley's 

Said, o'malley I have a thirst 

O'malley merely smiled at me 

Said you wouldn't be the first 

I knocked on the bar and pointed 

To a bottle on the shelf 

And as o'malley poured me out a drink 

I sniffed and crossed myself 

My hand decided that the time was nigh 

And for a moment it slipped from view 

And when it returned, it fairly burned 

With confidence anew 

Well the thunder from my steely fist 

Made all the glasses jangle 

When I shot him, I was so handsome 

It was the light, it was the angle 

Huh! hmmmmmm 

Neighbours! I cried, friends! i 

Screamed 

I banged my fist upon the bar 

I bear no grudge against you! 

And my dick felt long and hard 

I am the man for which no God waits 

But for which the whole world yearns 

I'm marked by darkness and by blood 

And one thousand powder-burns 

Well, you know those fish with the swollen lips 

That clean the ocean floor 

When I looked at poor o'malley's wife 

That's exactly what I saw 

I jammed the barrel under her chin 

And her face looked raw and vicious 

Her head it landed in the sink 

With all the dirty dishes 

Her little daughter siobhan 

Pulled beers from dusk till down 

And amongst the townfolk she was a bit of a joke 

But she pulled the best beer in town 

I swooped magnificent upon her 

As she sat shivering in her grief 

Like the madonna painted on the church-house wall 

In whale's blood and banana leaf 

Her throat it crumbled in my fist 

And I spun heroically around 

To see caffrey rising from his seat 

I shot that mother fucker down 

Mmmmmmmmmm yeah yeah yeah 

I have no free will, I sang 

As I flew about the murder 

Mrs. richard holmes, she screamed 

You really should have heard her 

I sang and I laughed, I howled and I wept 

I panted like a pup 

I blew a hole in mrs. richard holmes 

And her husband stupidly stood up 

As he screamed, you are an evil man 

And I paused a while to wonder 

If I have no free will then how can i 

Be morally culpable, I wonder 

I shot richard holmes in the stomach 

And gingerly he sat down 

And he whispered weirdly, no offense 

And then lay upon the ground 

None taken, I replied to him 

To which he gave a little cough 

With blazing wings I neatly aimed 

And blew his head completely off 

I've lived in this town for thirty years 

And to no-one I am a stranger 

And I put new bullets in my gun 

Chamber upon chamber 

And I turned my gun on the bird-like mr. brookes 

I thought of saint francis and his sparrows 

And as I shot down the youthful richardson 

It was st. sebastian I thought of, and his arrows 

Hhhhhhhhhh mmmmmmmmmmmm 

I said, I want to introduce myself 

And I am glad that all you came 

And I leapt upon the bar 

And shouted out my name 

Well jerry bellows, he hugged his stool 

Closed his eyes and shrugged and laughed 

And with an ashtray as big as a fucking really big brick 

I split his head in half 

His blood spilled across the bar 

Like a steaming scarlet brook 

And I knelt at it's edge on the counter 

Wiped the tears away and looked 

Well, the light in there was blinding 

Full of God and ghosts of truth 

I smiled at henry davenport 

Who made an attempt to move 

Well, from the position I was standing 

The strangest thing I ever saw 

The bullet entered through the top of his chest 

And blew his bowels out on the floor 

Well I floated down the counter 

Showing no remorse 

I shot a hole in kathleen carpenter 

Recently divorced 

But remorse I felt and remorse I had 

It clung to every thing 

From the raven's hair upon my head 

To the feathers on my wings 

Remorse sqeezed my hand in it's fradulent claw 

With it's golden hairless chest 

And I glided through the bodies 

And killed the fat man vincent west 

Who sat quietly in his chair 

A man become a child 

And I raised the gun up to his head 

Executioner-style 

He made no attempt to resist 

So fat and dull and lazy 

Did you know I lived in your street? I said 

And he looked at me as though I were crazy 

O, he said, I had no idea 

And he grew as quiet as a mouse 

And the roar of the pistol when it went off 

Near blew that hat right off the house 

Hmmmmmm uh uh 

Well, I caught my eye in the mirror 

And gave it a long and loving inspection 

There stands some kind of man, I roared 

And there did, in the reflection 

My hair combed back like a raven's wing 

My muscles hard and tight 

And curling from the business end of my gun 

Was a query-mark of cordite 

Well I spun to the left, I spun to the right 

And I spun to the left again 

Fear me! fear me! fear me! 

But no one did cause they were dead 

Huh! hmmmmmmmmm 

And then there were the police sirens wailing 

And a bull-horn squelched and blared 

Drop your weapons and come out 

With your hands held in the air 

Well, I checked the chamber of my gun 

Saw I had one final bullet left 

My hand, it looked almost human 

As I raised it to my head 

Drop your weapon and come out! 

Keep your hands above your head! 

I had one one long hard think about dying 

And did exactly what they said 

There must have been fifty cops out there 

In a circle around o'malley's bar 

Don't shoot, I cried, I'm a man 

Unarmed! 

So they put me in their car 

And they sped me away from that terrible scene 

And I glanced out of the window 

Saw o'malley's bar, saw the cops and the cars 

And I started counting on my fingers 

Aaaaaah one aaaaaah two aaaaaah three aaaaaaah four 

O'malley's bar o'malley's bar