Nick Cave has revealed he turned down an opportunity to collaborate with Morrissey on a new song, citing his reluctance to read what he described as a “silly anti-woke screed” that would have served as the introduction.
Responding to a fan question on his Red Hand Files website about his relationship with the former Smiths frontman, Cave explained that Morrissey had reached out to him via email last year with an offer to contribute vocals to a new song.
Cave described the song itself as “quite lovely” but noted it “began with a lengthy and entirely irrelevant Greek bouzouki intro,” referring to the long-necked string instrument that would have accompanied his spoken-word section.
While Cave admitted he “agreed with the sentiment on some level” of Morrissey’s written introduction, he ultimately “politely declined” the offer because it wasn’t aligned with his artistic approach.
“I try to keep politics, cultural or otherwise, out of the music I am involved with,” Cave explained. “I find that it has a diminishing effect and is antithetical to whatever it is I am trying to achieve.”
Cave did not share specific details about the content of Morrissey’s text, but the rejection comes amid Morrissey’s history of controversial statements, particularly regarding immigration and other issues that have aligned him with far-right viewpoints in recent years.
Despite not having released a new album since 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, Morrissey has remained active on the touring circuit. In an interview last year, he claimed that one of his completed albums had been “gagged” and suggested that “idiot culture” was preventing its release.
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Morrissey completed a run of North American shows earlier this spring and has just begun a European tour scheduled to continue through August. He is set to return to North America for additional concerts in September and October.
