NICK CAVE & PJ HARVEY – Henry Lee

“Henry Lee” may be a Scottish folklore character (as in the song “Young Hunting”) or—not by sheer coincidence—Henry Lee Lucas (1936-2001), an American convicted serial killer. “Henry Lee” is taken from Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads (1996).

Henry Lee Lucas was convicted of murdering his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. He rose to infamy while incarcerated for these crimes when he falsely confessed to approximately 600 other murders to Texas Rangers and other law enforcement officials. Many unsolved cases were closed based on the confessions and officially attributed the murders to Lucas, and he was considered the most prolific serial killer in history.

Get down, get down, little Henry Lee And stay all night with me You won’t find a girl in this damn world That will compare with me And the wind did howl and the wind did blow La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

I can’t get down and I won’t get down And stay all night with thee For the girl I have in that merry green land I love far better than thee And the wind did howl and the wind did blow La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

She leaned herself against a fence Just for a kiss or two And with a little pen-knife held in her hand She plugged him through and through And the wind did roar and the wind did moan La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

Come take him by his lilly-white hands Come take him by his feet And throw him in this deep deep well Which is more than one hundred feet And the wind did howl and the wind did blow La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee

Lie there, lie there, little Henry Lee Till the flesh drops from your bones For the girl you have in that merry green land Can wait forever for you to come home And the wind did howl and the wind did moan La la la la la La la la la lee A little bird lit down on Henry Lee