![]() Lastly, there is a single line at the beggining of the song, “Where secrets lie in the border fires”. I think we also need to take into account the music video, during which Cave lifts up his right hand to the camera, in a similar salute to that performed by UVF men at rallies in Northern Ireland, as well as the men dressed in black who enter and look round the house, in a similar way UVF men would when performing kidnappings or looking for signs of dissent. Moreover, backing this up is the line “But hidden in his coat / Is a red right hand” UVF members had to hide their activity’s and political alignments or ties, otherwise they could face prosecution or be murdered by the IRA, and this idea or it being hidden away or covered up, but always being there (as the loyalty to the cause is till death) is something this line gets across perfectly.įurthermore, the use of the song as the theme tune for the show Peaky Blinders also backs this theory up as the UVF and the IRA feature heavily in it, with the final episode of Series 2 featuring a group of UVF men, who refer to themselves as the “Red Right Hand of the Ulster Voluntary Force”. It gives this sense that they do not know who is a member of the Red Right Hand and who isn’t. The “tall handsome man” could be anyone, your brother, your dad, your uncle. ![]() The tall handsome man sustaining an omnipresent danger that is the “catastrophic plan” in which you (that is the average person) are a “microscopic cog”, can be adapted to fit the idea of the UVF and the IRA, with the danger of bombings and shootings always overarching everyone’s lives, with the “catastrophic plan” being the hidden aims of the UVF in there hidden war. A “tall handsome man” coming to give or take away, someone who seems to have vast amounts of wealth, power and resources, is something the UVF had. This idea could be further reinforced by the dark imagery throughout the song, that may not be representative or Milton’s poem but could also be representative of the UVF. The paramilitary section of the UVF referred to themselves as the ‘Red Right Hand’, quite possibly deriving from the Bible (as they were devout Protestants), from Milton’s poem, as they saw themselves as carrying out revenge on the Catholics or from the Red Right Hand that can be seen on the Northern Irish Flag, to show there loyalist allegiances. Another possible interpretation could be that the song is to do with the Ulster Voluntary Force and there actions during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s also the theme song for the BBC show Peaky Blinders.Īrguably, I would say yes it does. The song was used as a theme song for the the horror movies Scream 1 & 2 and the soundtrack of 3 still contains tunes that are a reminiscence of this song. ![]() In this way, the man represents consumer society: something which is very everyday, but in its essence utterly scary and life-crushing. The tall handsome man sustains this danger as a ‘catastrophic plan’ in which you (that is the average person) are a ‘microscopic cog’. It is the allure (remember that the man is tall and handsome) of material wealth which draws away your focus from more important things like self-respect. In verses three and four it is revealed what this danger actually is. In verses one and two, a tall handsome stranger ‘with a red right hand’ is used to personify an omnipresent danger. To back up the lyrics, the whole song has a threatening allure with the organ theme and Cave’s deep ominous voice. There are discussions among scholars whether it concerns the hand of Satan or the punishing hand of God himself. The notion of a Red Right Hand goes back to John Milton’s Paradise Lost where it also plays the role of an undefined threat. Upgrades Note Guilty Conscience / Unburdened Soul and Double-Tap / Twin Slugs are mutually exclusive.Track #5 from Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' eighth studio album Let Love In. Can be stolen from his supply room in a locked chest (difficulty 12).
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