Red Right Hand

 

The liner notes for Murder Ballads state that the phrase "red right hand" is from a line in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost that refers to divine vengeance. The opening song on the album, "Song of Joy," states of a murderer: "It seems he has done many, many more, / quotes John Milton on the walls in the victim's blood. / The police are investigating at tremendous cost. / In my house he wrote 'his red right hand'. / That, I'm told, is from Paradise Lost."

The aforementioned appearance in Paradise Lost (Book II, 170-174) is: "What if the breath that kindled those grim fires, / Awaked, should blow them into sevenfold rage, / And plunge us in the flames; or from above / Should intermitted vengeance arm again / His red right hand to plague us?" The term itself appears to be Milton's translation of the term "rubente dextera" in Horace's Ode I.2,2-3.

Co-writer Mick Harvey recalled that the song originated during the songwriting process for the band's 1994 album Let Love In. The lyrics describe "a shadowy, alluring, and manipulative figure, stalking the land and striking a combination of fear and awe everywhere he goes" who is "seemingly part deity, part demon".^[6] While writing the lyrics, Cave "filled an entire notebook" with descriptions of the town the song is set in, "including maps and sketches of prominent buildings, virtually none of which made it into the lyrics."^[7] Cave later said that the town and landscape depicted in the song is a "reconstructed" version of Wangaratta, his hometown. Biographer Mark Mordue notes that it is "still somewhere real enough for those lyrics to serve as a map that could guide you from one point to another with an eerie familiarity."^[8]

In 2004, researcher Kim Beissel claimed that "Red Right Hand" was loosely based on the 1987 Tom Waits song "Way Down in the Hole".^[9]

"Red Right Hand" is widely regarded as one of Cave's best songs. In 2020, Far Out ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Nick Cave songs,^[10] and in 2023, Mojo ranked the song number six on their list of the 30 greatest Nick Cave songs.^[11]

• The song was used in the South Australian Tourism Board's Barossa Valley television commercial campaign, Barossa, Be Consumed, directed by Jeffrey Darling.^[12]
• The song was used by New York design firm GrandArmy in a promotional clip for the Mexican tequila company El Jimador.^[13]

• Dumb and Dumber (1994 film)
• Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files (1996)
• Scream (1996 film)
• Box of Moonlight (1996)
• Hellboy (2004), the song appears on the soundtrack in a cover version by Pete Yorn
• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
• Jack Irish: Bad Debts (2012)
• Peaky Blinders (2013–2022), title track of the show – the album version and several cover versions have been played
• Wentworth (2019–2021)
• The Lost City (2022)

• The song was used in the first three films in the Scream franchise and in the fifth installment of the series, also named Scream, as well as the sixth installment. Scream 4 stands as the only film in the franchise not to feature the song. The original version appeared on the soundtrack album for the first film in 1996, while a remixed version by DJ Spooky appears on the Scream 2 (1997) album.
• Nick Cave recorded another version, sometimes referred to as "Red Right Hand 2", for Scream 3 (2000) and released it on his 3CD compilation album, B-Sides & Rarities (2005).

• The song was used in the 1994 The X-Files episode "Ascension", playing during Duane Barry's car ride, with Dana Scully in the trunk. In the liner notes for the compilation album, Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files (1996) The X-Files producer Chris Carter explained that the song was the direct inspiration for the anthology.^{[citation needed]}
• It was used as the main theme for the BBC television show Peaky Blinders. A version by popular English rock band Arctic Monkeys appeared in episode 3 of series 2, a version by US punk and garage rock band Fidlar in the opening episode of series 4, and a cover by British folk singer Laura Marling in the season 4 finale.^[14]
• The song was the main theme song for ABC television program Jack Irish, starring Guy Pearce.^{[citation needed]}
• The song was used in the Apple TV+ television sports comedy-drama show Ted Lasso episode "International Break".^{[citation needed]}

• English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys performed a cover version of "Red Right Hand" during their tour of Australia in early 2009, their performance in the Reading and Leeds Festival in August 2009, as well as in their North American tour in December 2009. A recorded version of the song appears on the Japanese version of their third studio album, Humbug (2009) and as a B-side on the single "Crying Lightning" (2009).^[15]
• Giant Sand covered the song on their album Cover Magazine (2002).^[16]
• Various artists have covered the track for the television series Peaky Blinders, including Anna Calvi, PJ Harvey, Laura Marling, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop & Jarvis Cocker, and Snoop Dogg.^[15]

• Euro three-track CD single

1. "Red Right Hand"
2. "That's What Jazz Is to Me"
3. "Where the Action Is"

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

• Nick Cave – vocals; organ; oscillator
• Blixa Bargeld – guitar
• Martyn P. Casey – bass guitar
• Mick Harvey – guitar; bells; shaker
• Thomas Wydler – drums; timpani; temple block (fish)

• "Red Right Hand" at Discogs (list of releases)