Nick Cave has shared his heartfelt reaction to a recent tweet from Bob Dylan, describing the experience as “a lovely pulse of joy.” Dylan’s tweet, shared on November 19 via his newly reanimated Twitter account, reflected on Cave’s Paris performance with the Bad Seeds at the Accor Arena two days prior.
Dylan highlighted Cave’s song “Joy,” from the Wild God album, specifically referencing the lyric:
“We’ve all had too much sorrow, now it’s the time for joy.”
The legendary songwriter added:
“I was thinking to myself, yeah, that’s about right.”
Cave’s Response: A Grateful Heart
Cave, who learned of the tweet afterward, took to his blog, The Red Hand Files, to express his gratitude and delight. The comment, he said, arrived during a moment of physical and emotional exhaustion but managed to lift his spirits:
“A lovely pulse of joy that penetrated my exhausted, zombied state.”
Cave, an avowed Dylan admirer, shared his thoughts on Dylan’s recent embrace of Twitter, noting the timing felt characteristic of the enigmatic artist:
“I was happy to see Bob on X, just as many on the Left had performed a Twitterectomy and headed for Bluesky. It felt admirably perverse, in a Bob Dylan kind of way.”
Finding Joy Beyond Politics
Reflecting on the broader message of his Paris performance, Cave observed how the political climate had saturated global discourse with despair:
“The world had grown thoroughly disenchanted, and its feverish obsession with politics and its leaders had thrown up so many palisades that had prevented us from experiencing the presence of anything remotely like the spirit, the sacred, or the transcendent – that holy place where joy resides.”
He described his shows with the Bad Seeds as an antidote to this gloom, providing an escape to a place of spiritual and emotional renewal.
A Missed Opportunity to Thank Dylan
While Cave lamented not knowing Dylan was in attendance, he expressed elation over his presence. Acknowledging the slim likelihood of an in-person thank-you, he chose his blog to deliver the message:
“I was elated to think Bob Dylan had been in the audience, and since I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to thank him personally, I’ll thank him here. Thank you, Bob!”
Bob Dylan’s Twitter Resurgence
Dylan’s recently revived Twitter account has stirred curiosity among fans. Once a platform for promotions, it now offers glimpses of personal insights, including comments on New Orleans cuisine, a tribute to late comedian Bob Newhart, and musings about a mysterious woman named Mary Jo.
For Nick Cave, Dylan’s thoughtful words reinforced the power of music to transcend moments of sorrow and deliver joy—an ethos at the core of both artists' works.
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