Nick Cave shares his “great elation” at becoming a grandfather
Nick Cave has expressed his “great elation” over becoming a grandfather.
For the most recent entry to his Red Hand Files Q&A website, the Bad Seeds frontman responded to a post from a fan who is “expecting a baby boy next week”.
Marius, from Lockport, New York, added: “All the tests are normal but I seem to swing from terror to euphoria and back again by the minute. Mostly terror! […] No real question, I just wanted to let you know.”
Replying to the message, Cave revealed how he had “considered” the post while enjoying “a dazzling sun-filled day” in Melbourne, Australia
“As I drank my coffee and ate my sandwich, I thought of my son, Luke, and his wife, Sasha, who had welcomed their own baby boy into the world last night, and I experienced a wave of great elation,” he wrote.
“A breeze rippled across the lawn, the birds cawed, the sun shone high in the sky, and the great gum trees seemed to burst from the ground – all for my own momentary enjoyment, for a new grandfather, sitting on a park bench, on this most happy day. A child is born and the world continues wildly upon its way.”
The singer-songwriter shared that he understood why Marius was “oscillating between terror and euphoria” because the fan and his wife were about to begin “perhaps the most substantive course of action two people can take – to bring a baby, that fragile interwork of spirit and atoms, that squalling metaphor of conjugal love, that emissary of hope and potential, that boy of joy, into what is, by any measure, a deeply troubled world”.
Cave went on: “I thought about what a defiant and outrageous act of positive intentionality it was, of courage and faith in the human adventure itself, of resistance against cynicism, of pure, undiluted trust in things, and I felt a very real affection for you both.”
He signed off: “I send you and your wife all my love and admiration, Marius. Love, Nick.”
Cave has two sons, Luke and Earl, the latter of whom is an actor. Earl was the twin brother of the musician’s late son Arthur, who died aged 15 after falling from a cliff in 2015. Then, in 2022, Cave’s other son Jethro Lazenby died aged 31.
The artist has opened up about the losses numerous times; the Bad Seeds’ two most recent albums (2016’s ‘Skeleton Tree’ and 2019’s ‘Ghosteen’) deal with the grief he experienced after Arthur passed away.
Last September, Cave explained how “grief, like love, is a mess”. He said: “The experience of losing my two sons was a reordering of one’s essential being. Ultimately, if we are lucky, we stop focusing on our own wounds and look to the wounds of the world.”
Cave revealed earlier this year that the Bad Seeds’ upcoming album ‘Wild God’ isn’t “set through a lens of loss”.
But the singer did go on to say that the grief had made him appreciate life more: “Joy is something that leaps unexpectedly and shockingly out of an understanding of loss and suffering… That’s in no way saying we’re not affected, or we’ve somehow gotten over it, or we’ve had closure or even acceptance.”
He continued: “I think closure is a dumb thing. Even acceptance is, like: ‘Just give it a few years and life goes back to how it was.’ It doesn’t happen. You’re fundamentally changed. Your very chemistry is changed. And when you’re put back together again, you’re a different person. The world feels more meaningful.”
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are due to release their “deeply and joyously infectious” 18th full-length record on August 30 (pre-order/pre-save here). Co-produced by Cave and Warren Ellis, the 10-song LP has already been previewed by its title track.
Last month, the band shared an official trailer for the forthcoming album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will embark on a European, UK and Ireland tour later this year in support of ‘Wild God’. When announcing the dates, Cave said: “The record just feels like it was made for the stage.” Find any remaining tickets (UK/Ireland) here.
Additionally, Cave has announced a run of European solo dates for this summer.
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Tom Skinner
NME
