Where the wild roses grow

In February 1995, Nick Cave released the album “Murder Ballads”. On the album is one of my all time favourite songs “Where the wild roses grow”

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue first performed the song publicly on 4 August 1995 in Cork, Republic of Ireland. I have often wondered why they picked Cork, maybe it was because the song was based on an Irish legend, The legend of Elisa Day.

It is tale from Medieval Ireland about a woman named Elisa Day whose beauty was like a wild rose. A young man came to town a fell in love with her. On the third day, he took her down to the river—where he killed her.

Legend has it that her beauty was like that of the wild roses that grew down the river, all bloody and red. One day, the young came to the small town…