"Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a song by the Australian band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, performed as a duet with pop singer Kylie Minogue. It was released in October 1995 as the lead single from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' album Murder Ballads (1996)
. The song is a murder ballad that tells the story of a man who kills his lover, Elisa Day, also known as "the wild rose." The narrative is presented as a dialogue between the murderer and his victim, sung alternately by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue. The lyrics describe their meetings over three days, culminating in the murder at a riverbank where wild roses grow
. The music video, directed by Rocky Schenck, visually references the murder scene at the river and evokes the imagery of John Everett Millais' painting Ophelia , featuring Kylie Minogue's character lying in the water, symbolizing the murdered woman
. The song achieved significant commercial success and critical acclaim, becoming Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' most successful single worldwide and one of Kylie Minogue's most notable works of the 1990s. It reached high chart positions in several countries, including Australia, Germany, the UK, and Norway, and was certified gold in Germany and Australia
. In summary, "Where the Wild Roses Grow" is set at a riverbank where wild roses grow, which is the site of the tragic murder described in the song
