Nick Cave has teamed up with Miracle Love Children of Afghanistan, a musical group of refugee girls, on their new single “Breathless/Beautiful.” Listen to it below.
Based on “The Wife With Closed Eyes,” Cave wrote a poem about his wife, Suzie, for his magazine’s 60th issue. red hand file, “Breathless/Beautiful” is a resonant number enhanced by the children’s sweet harmonies. Band founder Lanny Cordola introduces the song with husky vocals over slow acoustic guitar, and then Cave’s gruff voice emerges.
“These words resonated deeply in my soul and it struck me that even in the midst of loss, grief and harsh pain in the world, we can Create a sacred space in the heart to hold those we love.” He first read the poem two days after losing his brother and decided to expand on it. “Then the music came and attached itself to the lyrics with a kind of divine embrace. When I played it to the girls, they were deeply moved. The lyrics and the melody seemed to express the deepest longings in their souls.”
The video for the song, which is deliberately darkened and cuts back and forth between Cave’s studio footage and the girls’ chorus, was edited and directed by documentary filmmaker Hans Fjellestad. While bassist William Dagsher and drummer Kris Myers (Umphrey’s McGee) don’t appear in the video, they do appear on this song.
“I’m honored that Lanny and the amazing love kid/guitar girl chose to use my poem in this way,” Cave said of the song. “What they’ve done speaks volumes about what music can give and what it can take away.”
Miraculous Love Kids also recently featured Tom Morello and Serj Tankian on “God Help Us All,” and Sammy Hagar and Chad Kroeger on a cover of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle.”
As for Cave, he recently performed a cover of Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s “On the Other Side” with Debbie Haley. He will also begin his North American tour September 19 in Asheville. He will also travel to Brooklyn, Detroit and Los Angeles. Find tickets here.
