Yes, as promised it’s the twin princes of darkness, the Anti-Piteras. Nick Cave, the Black Crow King, and Shane McGowan, patron saint of immoderation, performing Louis Armstrong‘s own ode to joy, What a Wonderful World. Lyrics after the jump.
I see trees of green…….. red roses too
I see em bloom….. for me and for you
And I think to myself…. what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue….. clouds of white
Bright blessed days….dark sacred nights
And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world.
The colors of a rainbow…..so pretty ..in the sky
Are also on the faces…..of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands…..sayin.. how do you do
Theyre really sayin……i love you.
I hear babies cry…… I watch them grow
Theyll learn much more…..than Ill never know
And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world
(instrumental break)
The colors of a rainbow…..so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces…..of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands…..sayin.. how do you do
Theyre really sayin…*spoken*(I ….love….you).
I hear babies cry…… I watch them grow
*spoken*(you know their gonna learn
A whole lot more than Ill never know)
And I think to myself …..what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself …….what a wonderful world.
raincoaster 
Wow, the things you unearth, Raincoaster. That was excellent.
(And speaking of issues of celebrity dentation…)
Nice version – always had a soft spot for this one tho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU4vNoiOETU&feature=related
Thanks: that is another twisted classic. I’m also partial to Cave’s “In the Ghetto” if only for the fabulous lowbrow styling.
You know, I really like Nick Cave. I fell in love with “Red Right Hand” and I’ve picked up a bunch of other stuff since then.
But this…
this…
There’s no hiding it. It’s absolutely terrible.
It’ll always be a Louis Armstrong song for me. Whenever I listen to it I always hear his voice, no matter how good the cover artist is. It’s a beautiful song by any artist, though. I can understand why you shared this Rain, it’s a really good find.
It’s not terrible; it’s wonderful, but only in its intellectual context. Someone who’s never seen the dark side of life (as was Louis Armstrong’s public, if not private, persona) has a one-note take on it. That these two would choose to perform this, and that they do it with all their personal baggage, in the shape they’re in, with that particular background curtain (which I covet) makes the performance something special. The meaning is contextual, not musical.
when I had to pick music for stephen’s funeral I chose Nick Cave’s The Ship Song and Radiohead’s No Surprises.
nick cave is a the nearest thing to a god, for me anyway. have I asked you before if you’ve read And the Ass Saw the Angel? or seen the movie The Proposition?
and on another note, didn’t you drop a hint that you’d slept with a Pogue once…..?
:-)
I slept with a Pogue? I must have been drunk (how appropriate) cuz I don’t remember that!
ok maybe it wasn’t a pogue. but there was something about sleeping with a member of an irish band…..
There WAS? I said hello to Bono once, but that hardly counts.
aw come on…. don’t make me delve into your archives…..
I really, honestly have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you sure that wasn’t somebody else? I don’t have any exes, not even “short term exes” from bands. I’m usually the diva in the relationship.
I would really like to see shane sing this himself
Yes, but I think he was too drunk to remember the words.
I think kaiser would sound better singing it
Kaiser? The Kaiser’s been dead for a hundred and twenty years, you fool!