The story of how a Nick Cave song was used in an iconic ‘Harry Potter’ scene
The enigmatic singer Nick Cave has had almost innumerable amount of triumphs over his long career. Ranging from the pioneering yet bleak post-punk of his first outfit, The Birthday Party, to the dynamic majesty of his later works, such as 2019’s Ghosteen alongside long-time collaborator Warren Ellis, Cave has evolved as one of contemporary culture’s most important artists. The Australian has enjoyed a remarkable career brimming with fascinating tales, with one of the most intriguing arriving in a tale of how his song came to be featured in a Harry Potter movie.
On the face of it, Nick Cave and the world of Harry Potter could not be more different. Cave is an artiste extraordinaire, a poet who imbues much of his work with a hefty dose of realism, never afraid to grapple with topics, despite how heartbreaking they might be. On the other hand, the world of Harry Potter is quite the opposite. A child-oriented means of escaping the horrors of modern life that is also hailed as one of the most profound tales ever written, notwithstanding author J.K. Rowling’s recent PR disaster.
Regardless of the many criticisms that can be sent in its direction, the Harry Potter franchise is one of the most iconic in existence, sitting up there with Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings in the realms of Hollywood triumphs. With that, one of the most memorable scenes from the series comes in 2010’s penultimate outing, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
This is the moment when Hermione and Harry dance to a song in their tent, joining to the soundtrack of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ song ‘O Children’ as a brief respite from their emotionally draining hunt for Horcruxes. In the 2022 special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, the main star of the movie, Daniel Radcliffe, revealed that the scene was totally random, with co-star Emma Watson later labelling it as one of her favourites.
In some behind-the-scenes footage, director David Yates explains of the scene: “Harry and Hermione’s relationship is about true friendship. We wanted to do a scene without words that kind of caught that relationship. There’s just something really tender and moving about seeing them trying to alleviate the pain by dancing.”
However, it was not Yates who opted for ‘O Children’ to be included in this poignant moment. Instead, this was due to music supervisor Matt Biffa who was going through a breakup at the time. “I was separating from my wife at the time,” Biffa told the Los Angeles Times, explaining that he first came across the song back in 2004 and “hoarded it” for the right occasion. He said that he knew it “would be a great song for something, but I didn’t know what. I had forgotten all about it and started listening to it because I was splitting up from my wife. I was really terrified that we were going to hurt our little boys, who were 1 and 3 at the time. So it was like a love letter to my kids.”
Continuing his candid admission, Biffa explained: “There was something really uplifting about that ‘O Children,’ with lyrics like ‘rejoice / lift up your voice,’ and all that stuff. I was thinking of my kids. The lyrics are saying, ‘Forgive us for what we’ve done.’ It started out as a bit of fun, but then there’s weeping. It was horribly on the nose for me. At the same time, it was giving me hope. It’s not the same as writing a song for my children, but this is the closest I can get.”
