Where the Wild Roses Grow

"Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad[1] by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. It is the fifth song and lead single from the band's ninth studio album, Murder Ballads (1996), released on Mute Records. It was written by the band's frontman Nick Cave and produced by Tony Cohen and Victor Van Vugt.

For the film, see Where the Wild Roses Grow (film).

"Where the Wild Roses Grow"
Single by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue
from the album Murder Ballads
B-side
Released2 October 1995 (1995-10-02)
Recorded1993–1995
Length3:57
LabelMute
Songwriter(s)Nick Cave
Producer(s)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds singles chronology
"Red Right Hand"
(1994)		 "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
(1995)		 "Henry Lee"
(1996)
Kylie Minogue singles chronology
"Where Is the Feeling?"
(1995)		 "Where the Wild Roses Grow"
(1995)		 "Some Kind of Bliss"
(1997)
Music video
"Where the Wild Roses Grow" on YouTube

The song received a positive reception from music critics and became the band's most successful single worldwide reaching No. 3 in Norway, the top five in Australia, and the top twenty in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and New Zealand. It also received a limited promotional release in the United States. The song was certified Gold in Germany in 1996 for 250,000 copies sold,[2] despite never reaching the top ten in that country. It charted again at the bottom of the German Top 100 in 2008 because of digital downloads after it was used in a soap opera. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" was also certified Gold in Australia for selling 50,000 copies.

Cave was inspired to write "Where the Wild Roses Grow" after listening to the traditional song, "Down in the Willow Garden", a tale of a man courting a woman and killing her while they are out together. Cave arranged this tale as second of two B-sides, "The Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane" / "The Willow Garden", released on the CD-Maxi single version.

Although the song does not feature on a Minogue studio album, it can be found on her compilations Hits+, Greatest Hits 1987–1999, Ultimate Kylie, The Abbey Road Sessions and Step Back in Time: The Definitive Collection. Minogue performed a chorus of the song during her Showgirl and Homecoming tours.

It reached number 8 in Triple J's Hottest 100 1995. In 2012, NME listed the song in the "100 Best Songs of the 1990s" at number 35,[3] while in 2014, NME placed it at number 378 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[1]

Background

Cave described writing the song:

"Where The Wild Roses Grow" was written very much with Kylie in mind. I'd wanted to write a song for Kylie for many years. I had a quiet obsession with her for about six years. I wrote several songs for her, none of which I felt was appropriate to give her. It was only when I wrote this song, which is a dialogue between a killer and his victim, that I thought finally I'd written the right song for Kylie to sing. I sent the song to her and she replied the next day.[4]

— Nick Cave, quoted in Molly Meldrum presents 50 Years of Rock in Australia (2007)

A CD of the track—which had Blixa Bargeld singing Minogue's lines—was sent to Minogue's parents' house (as she was staying there at the time) prior to her recording the song.[5]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue first performed the song publicly on 4 August 1995 in Cork, Republic of Ireland.[6]

Song information

According to the sheet music edition published by SheetMusicNow.com, "Where The Wild Roses Grow" is written in the compound time signature of 6/8 and is set in the key signature of G minor, at a tempo of 56 beats per minute.[7]

Music video
The painting Ophelia by John Everett Millais inspired scenes within the music video.

The video for this song, commissioned by Emma Davies for Mute Records, shot by director Rocky Schenck and produced by Nick Verden for Atlas Films, shows Kylie Minogue in character, apparently having been murdered by Nick Cave's character. We see her in ghost-like form and also in a river in a pose reminiscent of Millais' painting Ophelia (1851–52). The video ends with Cave's character putting a rose in Minogue's mouth and closing her eyelids.[8]

Live performances

Cave and Minogue performed the song together live on stage in London on 3 June 2018 when Kylie made a surprise appearance during the Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds set at All Points East festival.[9]

Minogue performed the song on the following concert tours:

Minogue appeared as a surprise guest at Coldplay's Enmore Theatre show in Sydney, Australia on 19 June 2014, where they performed the song as a duet.[10] Cave and Minogue performed the song at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.[11]

Other version

A guide track with The Bad Seeds guitarist, Blixa Bargeld, singing Kylie Minogue's vocal part was released on the compilation B-Sides & Rarities.

Awards

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Where the Wild Roses Grow".

UK 7" single (MUTE 185)
  1. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (Cave) – 3:58
  2. "The Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane" (Cave) – 3:34
UK cassette single (CMUTE 185)
  1. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (Cave) – 3:58
  2. "The Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane" (Cave) – 3:34
EU CD single (CDMUTE 185)
  1. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (Cave) – 3:58
  2. "The Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane" (Cave) – 3:34
  3. "The Willow Garden" (Traditional) – 3:57
Australian CD single (D1188)
  1. "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (Cave) – 3:58
  2. "The Ballad of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane" (Cave) – 3:34
  3. "The Willow Garden" (Traditional) – 3:57

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Barker, Emily (31 January 2014). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – 400-301". NME. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Where the Wild Roses Grow')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  3. "100 Best Songs Of The 1990s (40-31)". NME. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  4. Jenkins, Jeff; Meldrum, Ian (2007). Molly Meldrum presents 50 Years of Rock in Australia. Melbourne, Vic: Wilkinson Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  5. Hann, Michael (26 April 2018). "Kylie on how ageing, breast cancer and Nick Cave all influenced her greatest hits". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  6. Maes, Maurice. "Nick Cave Songs – 1996". Home.vianetworks.nl. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  7. "Where The Wild Roses Grow Sheet Music by Nick Cave". SheetMusicNow.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  8. "Where The Wild Roses Grow". EMI Music. YouTube. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  9. "Kylie reunites with Cave for festival duet". BBC News Online. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  10. Shedden, Iain (26 June 2014). "Kylie, Coldplay duet". The Australian. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  11. D'Albiac, Stephen (30 June 2019). "Kylie Minogue joined by Nick Cave at Glastonbury 2019, sending the Pyramid Stage wild". Somerset Live. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
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  13. "Australian-charts.com – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds + Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
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  17. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 107 (50): 85. 16 December 1995. ISSN 0006-2510.
  18. "Hits of the World". Billboard. 108 (2): 47. 13 January 1996. ISSN 0006-2510.
  19. "Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds + Kylie Minogue: Where The Wild Roses Grow" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
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  22. "Íslenski Listinn Nr. 148: Vikuna 16.12 '95 – 22.12 '95" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir. 16 December 1995. p. 58. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Where the Wild Roses Grow". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  24. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds + Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  26. "Charts.nz – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds + Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds + Kylie Minogue – Where The Wild Roses Grow". VG-lista. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
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