Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - In The Ghetto Lyrics






As the snow flies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
A poor little baby child is born in the ghetto

And his mama cries
Cause there's one thing that she don't need
Is another little hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto

Oh people don't you understand
This child needs a helping hand
He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we that blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

And the world turns
And the hungry little boy with the runny nose
Plays in the streets as the cold wind blows in the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight in the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks away
He buys a gun and steals a car
He tries to run but he don't get far
And his mama cries
A crowd gathers round an angry young man
Face down in the street with a gun in his hand in the ghetto

Oh people don't you understand
This child needs a helping hand
He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me
Are we that blind to see?
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

And as her young man dies
On a cold and grey Chicago morn
Another little baby child is born in the ghetto





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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds In The Ghetto Comments
  1. W.... U....

    Nice hair.

  2. R.... T....

    I want to run my fingers thru that gorgeous black hair....

  3. a.... _....

    Wonderful lyrics. Rarely they matched so much with the "revisited" music

  4. W.... R....

    Pas terrible ! Fatigué ?

  5. S.... P....

    wonderfully chilling this version and nick cave he has a style of his own this man.

  6. A.... N....

    Does he have Irish ancestry he looks it

  7. M.... ....

    Reminds me of a young McGowan. Some people can't see the genius in such artists. I pity them.

  8. E.... T....

    Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeniooooooooooooooo!!
    Desde Argentina!!

  9. J.... T....

    He even manages to keep his eyes open for almost the majority of the video and considering the backstory to why Nick is so stoned on gear and wired from so much speed it's a wonder this got shot at all

  10. r.... p....

    Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

    As the snow flies
    On a cold and grey Chicago morn
    A poor little baby child is born in the ghetto

    And his mama cries
    Cause there's one thing that she don't need
    Is another little hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto

    Oh people don't you understand
    This child needs a helping hand
    He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
    Take a look at you and me
    Are we that blind to see?
    Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

    And the world turns
    And the hungry little boy with the runny nose
    Plays in the streets as the cold wind blows in the ghetto
    And his hunger burns
    So he starts to roam the streets at night
    And he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight in theghetto

    Then one night in desperation
    The young man breaks away
    He buys a gun and steals a car
    He tries to run but he don't get far
    And his mama cries
    A crowd gathers round an angry young man
    Face down in the street with a gun in his hand in the ghetto

    Oh people don't you understand
    This child needs a helping hand
    He's gonna grow to be an angry young man some day
    Take a look at you and me
    Are we that blind to see?
    Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?

    And as her young man dies
    On a cold and grey Chicago morn
    Another little baby child is born in the ghetto

  11. J.... F....

    @Dariusz Kwietnioczub
    Czy można się z Tobą kontaktować pod tym filmem? Lub w jakiś inny sposób. Sprawa dotyczy Gabriela, Emilki itp.

  12. D.... ....

    Did not like this much.

  13. J.... D....

    Oh icky

    J.... D....

    That's what he said.

  14. S.... T....

    Big up all the ghetto children!

  15. W.... F....

    Something tells me Nick Cave isn't Sober here

    W.... F....

    He was a heroin addict at the time, so I seriously doubt he was.

  16. D.... T....

    That black hair takes my breath away 😍

    D.... T....

    Right? So hot! Too bad age is a thing.

  17. J.... ....

    Like his original material but this is utter SHIT.

  18. T.... P....

    Que hermoso!!! 😍 Te amoo!!!

  19. P.... S....

    Goosebumbs

  20. s.... t....

    Nick' is a great

  21. B.... S....

    Elvis is only famous to american idiots who think a white dude created rock music. It's obvious where the haters are from when they can't even type a sentence properly on YT lol.

    B.... S....

    Bob Sagert Elvis is world wide famous. The Beatles were influenced by them, other people were influenced by them and go on. He basically made Rock and Roll a thing you’re probably just an ignorant who likes bashing on american and I’m saying this as a non-american.

  22. V.... H....

    It doesn’t get better than this.

  23. S.... D....

    Even this,incredible..I think he should be up for a noble prize,no word's can be written that he already hasn't.

    S.... D....

    Stephen Dawe The awesomeness is beyond awesome... I am in thrall.

    S.... D....

    He didn’t write it, the guy who wrote it was Mac Davis

  24. b.... ....

    Stunning backing track, embarrassingly awful vocal.

  25. J.... P....

    I like it !!

  26. A.... S....

    He's as hot as this is awkward.

  27. J.... U....

    possibly the sickest cig drags ever

  28. I.... J....

    Brilliance, he won't wish he could have written many other songs but sure this would be one of them. I salute the man and his band for their enduring talent

  29. E.... T....

    Belleza pura.
    Tuve la suerte de verlos en Argentina en el ´97...
    Experiencia de VIDA Inolvidable.

  30. B.... L....

    The only time a song like this makes sense is when someone like Cave performs it (perhaps somewhat ironically). In his own way. Projection. The version by Presley is almost non-apparent. Insidious. Forgotten.

    B.... L....

    Now, that's an angsty review worth of Tumblr for sure. I bet you wear mismatched socks as a statement.

  31. R.... ....

    Good God! He sounds like he's Half-Asleep!

    R.... ....

    You mean. Speak for yourself.

    R.... ....

    Heroin...

  32. R.... W....

    Mkay, you're all entitled to your opinions entirely. I've got no problem with that. But I'm also entitled to my own opinion, and that is that I like this and was never a huge Elvis fan. (I don't mind him, just was never a huge fan.) Also, I feel it's a tad rude for someone to say that those who watched this and liked it have no taste in music. Everyone has different taste in music, and there's not exactly a good or bad. And everyone has a right to form their own individual tastes and should be allowed to do so without hassle.

    R.... W....

    Rainbow Wyvern love you random commenter

    R.... W....

    I love this tbh

  33. M.... P....

    Just pure awful. Mac Davis, Baby!

    M.... P....

    Idiot american probably think elvis created rock too lol;)

  34. a.... ....

    eery and beautiful version

  35. S.... B....

    One of the best songs Elvis recorded. Good cover.

  36. b.... ....

    Heroin is a hell of a drug. Nick was given x amount of dollars to make this video to promote the single and guess what he blew it on? I love this cover the his drug induced state in this video gives the song a touch of irony. Saw Nick and the Bad Seeds perform this when they opened for The Cramps in 1984. Epic!

    b.... ....

    I did Heroin with Nick at lalopalooza in San Diego at Aztec bowl, dont even remember the year, but Green Day was there with their first album and so was George Clinton

    b.... ....

    Brian Reklaitis Nick was still doing heroin at that point in time?

    b.... ....

    Saw him 10 times, since the ‘80’s . I grew up with his music and I’m glad that he played many times in Belgium and Netherland. If he dies, many people will mourn in a way we still do with Bowie.

  37. T.... ....

    Spent a lot of time going to see Nick over the years, and if there is one thing you can depend on, it's a bit of Cave. Much needed tonight. So thank you for posting this.

    T.... ....

    For me, it's tonight

  38. B.... P....

    hehe, so not into it but still great :)

  39. N.... C....

    cool...

  40. J.... F....

    what dis is bad no ofense did is a clasic story turns to a peace of poop

    J.... F....

    Learn to type before you criticize anyone on anything obvious american moron.. Now go die in a mass shooting lol;)

  41. D.... d....

    beste Version seit Elvis !

  42. M.... P....

    Phreak phukin' ruined the song.

    M.... P....

    Please. Could you be any less candid. Unimaginative. Learned?

    M.... P....

    your totally right. the song is ruined now... i cant listen to any other version because this version wasnt perfect. we should just burn all the copies and delete all the downloads of elvis presleys version because some people didnt like nick caves performance of it.


    seriously man? no one expected the cover to be better than the original. it was probably done because 1 he liked the song. and 2 it promoted an already old song, and brought new life to it.


    please, write in a real language. you're helping to dumb down the youth with that crap.

    M.... P....

    Yip. And CAVE is still the coolest hipster. Most unique character. He released this song in 1984. Then in the same year and month, From Her To Eternity. The album. Putting the Bad Seeds on the map. Not forgetting his earlier work with The Birthday Party. He does more justice for this song than it probably even deserves. It is a better version. More depth. Clarity, even. Compared to Cave, even Elvis is 'overrated" and somewhat in dispute. When you think of the majority of Cave's work. There really is no competition.

    M.... P....

    Then again, respectfully, Presley faded fast, in later years. The '70s were a disaster. Totally out of his depth. Circus show. Issues with weight and addiction. Almost all his songs were handpicked and written for him. Sure, he obviously could write, on his own, although never needed to? He may have lasted, and been better, had he written his own? Exclusively. Characteristically. As real performers should proceed to do.

    M.... P....

    Funny how everyone who doesn't like it sounds like a retarded american troll who voted for trump lol;)

  43. M.... ....

    It's like a evening of karaoke

  44. T.... C....

    lucky he was not born a woman , fuck he would be ugly

    T.... C....

    What even is this comment meant to mean? lol

    T.... C....

    You not seen PJ Harvey ?

    T.... C....

    He does kinda look like the male equivalent of PJ Harvey. Their music styles are somewhat similar too.

    T.... C....

    in his vídeo "do you love me" appears a few seconds as a woman "Nikola the stripper" hahah and it is awesome!

  45. D.... d....

    nick so gut , um war zu sein!

  46. S.... I....

    I love you Nick!

  47. G.... R....

    Nicks the man whatever he does

  48. N.... D....

    this has to be the worst cover of all time

    N.... D....

    +ROSS EDWARDS have you ever heard Eilert Pilarm's cover? watch?v=W5yz7yugOi4

    N.... D....

    Apparently you haven't heard The National's version of Peggy-O, aka Fennario

    N.... D....

    Why on earth would you suggest that? Sure enough. There is irony here. Still, largely impressive. However, Cave has all but silenced the critics forever. As he continually does. I mean, go and research. Listen without prejudice. Have some integrity. Imagination. Due process. G-E-N-I-U-S. Perhaps, at times he just makes it look too easy. Although has suffered all his convictions. And lives by them.

    N.... D....

    Die in a mass shooting, dumbfuck yankee doodle lol;)

  49. A.... D....

    His hair looks wildly great!

    A.... D....

    JEPP! And he is stoned as a Stone in this Clip!

  50. S.... M....

    OH MY GOD HE IS MY DREEEEEEAAAMMMMM

  51. E.... T....

    je trouve sa voix jeune moins bonne que maintenant

  52. �.... �....

    Понравилась мне эта композиция .......

  53. B.... Z....

    much better than original. :*

  54. C.... Z....

    Fuck Sid Vicious. Seriously.

    C.... Z....

    Im not talking to you man, theres a comment below that someone compares this Cave era and video with a touch of Sid Vicious.

    C.... Z....

    I hope it feels safe in your little happy place, but I'm affraid nobody gives a fuck about your opinion.

    C.... Z....

    I'm not sure how anyone with any sense of reality, or any knowledge of musicality, would compare this in any way to to Sid Vicious. There's not even a remote comparison or similarity between the amazing Nick Cave, and Sid Vicious. Sid could barely even play the bass guitar, let alone compose music as brilliant, touching, and inspiring as Nick Cave. Even performing a cover song such as this, and deep in his addiction and demons, Nick's voice and performance makes every hair on your neck stand up and touches the deepest darkest parts of your soul and psyche. Sid Vicious......eh....not so much ;-)

    C.... Z....

    Again my all time favorite band is The Birthday Party even though I have every Bad Seed album Rowland is still my Hero. But AGAIN I explain myself theres a comment below that someone compares this Cave era and video with a touch of Sid Vicious. This comment is for them

    C.... Z....

    Cris' of the world unite and take over and fuck sid tho

  55. L.... G....

    the best!!!!

  56. R.... C....

    Elvis version is 1000000x better

    R.... C....

    @Haley Peterson It has more to do with the lyrics - they're too cheesy to sound sincere from someone like Cave. "This child needs a helping hand" in particular sounds awkward from him, but sounded incredibly heartfelt from Elvis the king of cheese.

    R.... C....

    +Oscar Chadwick-Pask man, elvis was a parent when he did this song. and nick was a single man sewing his oats. now that he is a parent and if he sung this again, you will hear more emotion in his voice than the original and especially now that he has loss and grief to deal with. I imagine it will now bring him to tears. I wish nick strength with what he is going thru, and his family. bless the caves

    R.... C....

    I love both versions. I'm allowed to? :D

    R.... C....

    I'll bet Cave does it much better now. As far as this recording goes, it's a stunning backing track with an embarrassingly awful vocal. Plead as much "different tone" as you want, at that point it's clearly someone who hadn't mastered his art. He has now and then some.

    R.... C....

    You old fogies are jokers... He was at his best in the Birthday Party and got progressively worse from there on out... Bad Seeds is for 40+yr olds who treat music like arts and crafts lol;)

  57. O.... ....

    Reminds me a little of Sid Vicious.

    O.... ....

    only not as fake

  58. F.... ....

    Skip to @4:18 if you have taste in music.

  59. S.... S....

    Ghetto tada i sada ? !
    i kakvi smo mi to ljudi iz Getta ?
    ili kakvi zu "ONI"  ???????????
    ja sam iz Puharske al´ nije iskljucenoda ce i TO biti Ghetto, jednog dana, tko zna ?

    S.... S....

    rodjen sam u getu....tačno u čas...da vidim...

  60. J.... F....

    holy sh*t, I can't believe how bad this is.

    J.... F....

    The song no, the video yes.

    J.... F....

    @Jim Fowler It's the sound on the video that makes it bad. Find high quality audio, it's great cover, you'll see.

    J.... F....

    In all honesty, you are wrong. Completely. Yip, this comment is late. However, could have told you this from the beginning. Merely "correcting" these miserable comments from people like YOU. The audio is fine. Not loud and brash. The recording is flawless. Work with the tools you have. Get the sound you want. That simple.

    J.... F....

    Jim is clearly misguided.

    J.... F....

    Stunning backing track, embarrassingly awful vocal.

  61. Z.... Z....

    I just saw Nick at the 'Gold Coast Entertainment centre' last Thursday 4th of December 2014... He was Brilliant!!

    Z.... Z....

    @***** and chat anytime Jen.. I enjoy talking with mature people... who have no need to 'slander or insult people just because of differences of opinion... I just bolck' them! :-)

    Z.... Z....

    @***** It sure is Jen!

    Z.... Z....

    @***** Do you have a favorite Nick Cave song?

    Z.... Z....

    @***** Nice... It is a great song!... I have so many but 'Into My Arms' always gets me emotional... 'Stagger lee' ... 'The ship song'...

    Z.... Z....

    @***** It's beautiful isn't it?

  62. j.... c....

    This was shot in the director's garage in LA. Call me Johnny Trivia… or just Cunt. 

  63. J.... P....

    The timing was befitting!

  64. v.... ....

    Bravo Nick, this is a great composition while it fascinates me every time!

  65. S.... B....

    As much as I love Nick and this cover I love even more the story behind this video where Mute gave him money to produce the video and he squandered most of it on drugs and what was left of it was made to produce this video. I guess sometimes less is more as the minimalism of the production reflected the theme and feeling of the song. However I think what Mute learned from this was to give someone else money to produce Nick's music videos :D

    S.... B....

    @Antipodean33
    You make good points. Unfortunately I am not familiar with Australian politics and socio-economy (especially during the 80s) so I can't say yay or nay, but you provided an interesting insight. So thank you.

    S.... B....

    @Stefan B. No worries, take care

    S.... B....

    @Antipodean33
    Geez you talk shit. Seriously.
    Australia in the 70's and early 80's had FREE University education. (Whitlam made it free, and it stayed that way until HECS was introduced). Any kid that could pass their HSC (as it was called at the time) and get accepted could go to Uni. (Yep, we call it Uni, not college here...your use of that word shows you probably aren't even Australian).
    Your talk of privilege is just bull, school teachers seriously did not make all that much money, specially ones in the bush where Nick grew up. The members of his first band "The Boys Next Door" all met while at Caulfield Grammar. If you think that was a rich/privileged school at the time, you are sadly mistaken. The fees were some of the lowest in Australia, and any family where both parents worked (as Nick's did) could afford it. Both parents working was really not a mark of wealth in the 70's, it was strongly looked down on as being only for the lower class. Good middle class mums stayed at home.
    If you really are an Australian (and I strong doubts you are), then you not going to Uni was simply because either a) you had no wish to, or b) could not pass Year 12, not because you were too poor.

    S.... B....

    @midniterambler01 Listen drop kick, we have unis AND COLLEGES, ever heard of Emanuel College?  Also dimwit i know we had free uni back in the 70s and 80s as i had plenty of friends who went to uni. I care zero if you don't think i'm Australian. Also Cave didn't "grow up in the Bush" he was born in Wangaratta but was schooled in Melbourne at a "college" which name escapes me. Also what is this BS about me and uni? I never said i couldn't go to uni, i went to work at 15 then got an apprenticeship. I have met Cave and the rest of them when they came to Adelaide, me and a group of mates (musos from Grong Grong) even travelled to Melbourne to see their last gig at the Seaview Ballroom (the time Mick Harvey refused to come back to Australia for) and we got a bootleg of the gig. You can tell by the way Cave speaks that he is not from the street, you can also tell this by his writing. You are probably some 16 year old who thinks he knows all. Run along with your assumptions and nonsense

    S.... B....

    @Antipodean33 lol that's telling him.

  66. J.... F....

    great version

  67. A.... C....

    we look the other way.....

  68. Z.... ....

    so much better than Elvis!!!!

    Z.... ....

    Probably not. Elvis was a gimmick.. A hero only to american idiots who think a white guy created rock music lol;)

    Z.... ....

    Ah, no. You're the gimmick. Dissing Elvis and having the complete ignorance to assert that Elvis was only popular to Americans, your pea-brain has been exposed. Whether Elvis created rock and roll is irrelevant. The massive and amazing body of work Elvis created speaks for itself. And only idiots like you that think all Elvis was is Hound Dog or Love me Tender, or Vegas Jumpsuits, only look like fools to the many BLACK stars and artists that loved, respected and admired Elvis because they all know how damn good he was. And, this version of In the Ghetto sucks...coming from a big Nick Cave fan. It has zero emotion and is not stirring like Elvis' version. And oh, you're a pretentious tool. LMAO.

    Z.... ....

    Bob Sagert Lol even black people say that even tho rock and roll came from afroamericans Elvis added something they couldn’t and black people community respected him as much as he respected them

    Z.... ....

    Exactly. I find it amusing when people try so hard to discredit Elvis' vital contribution and pure brilliance. I believe this is a form of identity politics and virtue signaling. No Elvis, no Rock and Roll. No Rock and Roll, no Beatles...and so on. Rock and Roll was petering and teetering on extinction until Elvis transformed it, electrified it, sexified it, and from sheer will and major cahones, put it on his back and dragged it directly into the heart of the mainstream of Americana. Some people fail to understand the guts Elvis had. A southern white boy unapologetically infusing black music with gospel and country music, and then performing that original recipe on stage, in a bold, direct and powerful display of sexuality. Thus sparking a sexual revolution and liberating us from the chains of dogmatic ideology and creative suppression.

    Z.... ....

    Elvis sung the hell out of this song but I like both.

  69. s.... ....

    Absolutly !!

  70. Y.... L....

    Nick channels Sid Vicious (my way), Elvis, Eno and Heroin. 

    Y.... L....

    @Yuval Legendtofski yes glad someone else noticed "Sid: in this

    Y.... L....

    Sid had nowhere near the charisma and talent that Nick Cave does. IMO.

  71. G.... C....

    que capo

  72. d.... ....

    Not really. Will he be famous almost forty years after he dies? I doubt it. This guy can't carry a tune in a bucket.

    d.... ....

    Elvis is only famous to american idiots who think a white dude created rock music. Go die in a mass shooting goof lol;)

  73. j.... m....

    Better than that fat overrated burger munchers version.

  74. N.... Z....

    This is fucking awful, Jesus Christ.

    N.... Z....

    Elvis is only famous to american idiots who think a white dude created rock music. Go die in a mass shooting goof lol;)

  75. g.... ....

    Disgusting.. he really fucked up Elvis' song

    g.... ....

    Elvis is only famous to american idiots who think a white dude created rock music. Go die in a mass shooting goof lol;)

  76. B.... T....

    Sid Visious comes up to my head doing My Way

    B.... T....

    Same except Nick is acctually a talented musician

    B.... T....

    @Alex Strixner Could've fooled me.

  77. J.... J....

    1984. It appears on "From Her to Eternity."

  78. K.... E....

    Better than the original. (sorry, Elvis)

    K.... E....

    ahahahahaha ! he is drunk !

  79. v.... ....

    Умопомрачительная вещь во все времена!

  80. J.... W....

    Like the guy.. But this songs bunk lol. but hey, that's the 80's for you

    J.... W....

    Elvis is only famous to american idiots who think a white dude created rock music. Go die in a mass shooting goof lol;)

  81. W.... ....

    Definitely! Greatest man in the world... beside Bieber - what a contrast!;))

  82. a.... ....

    I love Nick Cave's work but Elvis did it best. Elvis told you a story and by doing so showed you the tragedy, Cave on the other hand shows you the tragedy to tell the story.

  83. A.... ....

    I'm going to strangle myself WOW hes so attractiveeeeeeee

    A.... ....

    Strangle Nick instead.

  84. d.... ....

    This is awesome.

  85. m.... ....

    aaaahaha yeah. gimme nick!!

  86. m.... ....

    what a pretty person he is

  87. M.... ....

    ever since Zappa died

  88. S.... F....

    Very special to someone in my neighbourhood, some bitch who liked to provoke people, hoping they would turn to murder, and be suborned by her gotterdammerung ferschluggener excuse for a murder group. Quelle pauvrete! Quelle misere!

  89. R.... ....

    Utter crap. This pongwarble is the reason I've boycotted Warracknabeal.

  90. e.... ....

    heroin is a hell of a drug.

  91. T.... ....

    Wonderful and god, watching it now, Nick was so young and such a babe!

  92. S.... ....

    @widowmaker42

    No, it isn't.

  93. g.... ....

    Plus Nick just can't say "mama" like Elvis.

  94. J.... W....

    i lov song and NIk Cave

  95. R.... ....

    @widowmaker42 Nick Cave is great because what he does is so fucked......

  96. w.... ....

    what the hell is this shit? I dont get how people rave on about how great Nick Cave is. this is fucked.

  97. O.... ....

    Cartman did it better!