Nick Cave’s world has “fundamentally changed” after the death of his two sons

Nick Cave said his view of the world had “fundamentally changed” after the death of two of his sons.

The Australian musician's son, Arthur, died at the age of 15 when he fell from a cliff near the family home in Brighton, England.

Cave's eldest son Jethro, whom he had with model Beau Lazenby and with whom he had a complicated relationship, died in 2022 at the age of 31.

Cave, 66, said he was now “less sensitive to [his] his own place in the world,” adding that these losses had made his music bolder.

He told The big problem: “We change, sometimes even several times, when shaken by events. This can fundamentally change our perception of the world and our behavior.”

“I think that happened to me to some extent and made me care a little less about my own place in the world. The worst had happened. Maybe it made me a little braver.”

Cave later spoke about his 2007 song “O Children,” which remains his most popular track on Spotify, in which he wrote that he was unable to “ [his] Children”.

The song is still relevant today, he said: “I wrote ('O Children') 22 years ago while watching my children when they were little and playing on a playground.

“I wrote about this shitty world we created and couldn't protect our children from. It seemed relevant when it came out, but it always found its subject.

“Personally, I was not able to protect my children. Even today, thousands of children are dying everywhere. And the same question arises: what kind of world are we creating for our children?”

Cave, who is married to British designer Susie Cave, has two other sons, Earl, an actor, and Luke.

Earlier this year, the “Red Right Hand” artist spoke about how he was forced to mourn publicly after Arthur’s death, which he found strangely comforting.

“It kept me from closing the windows completely and locking the doors and just living in this dark world,” he said The Guardian.

He said he was overwhelmed by the expressions of support he had received from the public: “I received letter after letter addressed to 'Nick Cave, Brighton'.”

“It was really something extraordinary,” he explained. “And that attention and sense of community was extremely helpful to me.”

He continued: “I think people are usually alone with these things. Susie met someone whose son had died seven years ago and she still hadn't spoken to her husband about it.

“These people are completely alone and perhaps full of anger. I cannot stress enough that I was in an extraordinarily privileged position in this regard.”

Cave’s full interview in Big problem is now available at kiosks.