The Mercy Seat (song)

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"The Mercy Seat" is a song written by Nick Cave (lyrics and music) and Mick Harvey (music), originally performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It was released as a single in 1988, with a longer version also appearing that year as the opening track on the Bad Seeds' album Tender Prey. The song's narrator is a prisoner awaiting execution in the electric chair, while its title refers to the biblical "mercy seat", associated with God's presence and judgment. The song received widespread critical acclaim upon its release, with NME and other alternative music magazines voting it single of the year. It has subsequently been ranked as one of the greatest songs of all time by Pitchfork and Rolling Stone editor Toby Creswell, who included it in his list of the 1001 greatest songs. The song has been covered by others, most notably Johnny Cash.

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