Here’s one we didn’t see coming: the title track of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ last album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! has inspired a 40-page hardback book.

The volume collates various notes, photos, lyrics and even a CD to sketch the song’s back-story. “[This book] is a curiosity,” Cave explains in the typically verbose press spiel, “that deals with the preparation and final glorious outcome of a project that began on the back of an envelope, a literal ‘scrap’ of an idea and ended up evolving into a genuine cultural icon and classic rock ‘n’ roll song.” If he doesn’t say so himself…

“The song, which is a comic re-imagining of the Lazarus myth, is accompanied by an eight-foot-square light sculpture, employing over 750 light bulbs, built by [Sue] Webster and [Tim] Noble,” the man continues. “This little book documents the journey of this mammoth collaboration.” No release date has yet been announced for the book, but it’s unlikely Nick will be signing copies at your neighbourhood Dymocks.