Natalie Merchant Quotes (62 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), The Worst Thing
Variant: once I came close to that most elusive fire
burning with hopeless love and desire
but it was just about the worst thing that I could do
it was just about the worst thing I could do

“o, I believe
fate smiled and destiny
laughed as she came to my cradle
know this child will be able
laughed as she came to my mother
know this child will not suffer
laughed as my body she lifted
know this child will be gifted
with love, with patience and with faith
she'll make her way”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Wonder

“who will draw the calvary in
risk his very own precious skin
to make our Angelinia a free and peaceful land again?
Henry
who'll love a poor orphan child?
Henry Darger”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), Henry Darger

“I want to thank you
for so many gifts
you gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you
I want to thank you
for your generosity
the love and the honesty
that you gave me”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Kind & Generous

Natalie Merchant Quotes about people

“people see me
I'm a challenge to your balance
I'm over your heads
how I confound you and astound you”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Wonder

“people struggle, people fight
for the simple pleasures in their lives
but trouble comes from everywhere
it's a little more than you can bear”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Break Your Heart

“I don’t want to overdo discussing my experience of motherhood, its too private and profound to parade around. I will say that carrying a child, giving birth to a child and raising that child up has made me feel more engaged and connected to others. I have a greater understanding of people (living past & present). We all begin so pure, so innocent and so hungry for physical and emotional comfort. It’s so important that every baby be generously cherished, fed and comforted. I can see now how withholding these essentials can do irreparable damage.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com
Context: I don’t want to overdo discussing my experience of motherhood, its too private and profound to parade around. I will say that carrying a child, giving birth to a child and raising that child up has made me feel more engaged and connected to others. I have a greater understanding of people (living past & present). We all begin so pure, so innocent and so hungry for physical and emotional comfort. It’s so important that every baby be generously cherished, fed and comforted. I can see now how withholding these essentials can do irreparable damage. Now (post-baby) when I encounter a sad or aggressive character, I wonder what the first three years of his or her life were like. Imaging them alone, crying in their cribs has given me much more compassion.

“For the time being I am enjoying my chance to enjoy civilian life off the road. If I combined all the months that I have lived out of a van or tour bus it would amount to twelve solid years. That would be twelve years of driving or flying an average of 100 to 400 miles per day and sleeping in a different city every night. It was a very unique lifestyle that I adapted to and even enjoyed with it’s surreal pace. It’s also a lifestyle that can take a toll on the body and relationships with the people that you are constantly leaving behind.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com

“people ruthless, people cruel
see the damage that some people do
full of hatred, full of pride
it's enough to make you lose your mind”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Break Your Heart

“I think many people have been made curious about Henry Darger because of the song on my album Motherland.”

Natalie Merchant

Henry Darger (1892-1973) was the author and illustrator of what could possibly be the longest unfinished fictional work of all time. His towering hand-bound manuscript of 17,000 pages was found in this obscure retired hospital janitor’s apartment after his death. Henry worked in obsessed isolation for six decades on his saga entitled, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com

Natalie Merchant: Trending quotes

“There is one tradition in America I am proud to inherit. It is our first freedom and the truest expression of our Americanism: the ability to dissent without fear. It is our right to utter the words, "I disagree."”

Natalie Merchant

We must feel at liberty to speak those words to our neighbors, our clergy, our educators, our news media, our lawmakers and, above all, to the one among us we elect President.
The Nation (15 July 1991)

“I'm just so fascinated by it once I turn it on, I'm not even that aware what's there. I'm just watching it. So I don't ever turn it on.”

Natalie Merchant

Orlando Sentinel (6 November 1992)
Context: I grew up as a TV baby, with my TV babysitter, up until I was about 10. Then my mother just ripped the thing out of the wall and put it in a closet, and we didn't watch it. I have that sort of ability to become addicted to it. And I'm just so fascinated by it once I turn it on, I'm not even that aware what's there. I'm just watching it. So I don't ever turn it on. I get my news from the newspaper. I don't want to watch the Hollywood news product on TV... There's no other piece of furniture in my home I'd stare at for three hours at a time, so I try not to do it to the TV.

“It’s pretty obvious to everyone that the revolution has happened.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com
Context: It’s pretty obvious to everyone that the revolution has happened. The People can now easily cut out a hoard of middlemen (record companies, radio stations, music press and retail shops). With a series of computer strokes they can find the music they want to hear, become informed about the musicians who make it, find other people who share their interest and ultimately either buy, trade or steal that coveted sound.

Natalie Merchant Quotes

“There's no other piece of furniture in my home I'd stare at for three hours at a time, so I try not to do it to the TV.”

Natalie Merchant

“After spending nearly 20 years contracted to a major label, I have mixed feelings about their demise.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com
Context: After spending nearly 20 years contracted to a major label, I have mixed feelings about their demise. These companies have profited immensely from your insatiable desire for listening and helped musicians for several decades to reach you. They grew fat and excessive. They exploited and they monopolized. They edited and censured. They’ve been rapidly losing their means of production, distribution and promotion to the internet. They have been economizing by dropping artists, cutting staff and folding into one another but they can’t keep up with the pace of disintegration. You might not have ever heard my name if Elektra Records hadn’t made me one of their artists for hire. I’m both grateful and resentful and you probably are too.

“I tell you life is sweet
in spite of the misery
there's so much more”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Life Is Sweet
Context: they told you life is hard
it's misery from the start
it's dull and slow and painful
I tell you life is sweet
in spite of the misery
there's so much more
be grateful

“these days you might feel a shaft of light
make its way across your face
and when you do
you'll know how it was meant to be
see the signs and know their meaning”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Our Time In Eden (1992), These Are Days

“these are days you'll remember”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Our Time In Eden (1992), These Are Days

“Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest
a god damned hurricane
your common sense
your best defense
lay wasted and in vain”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Ophelia

“I know that it will hurt
I know that it will break your heart
the way things are
and the way they've been
and the way they've always been”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Break Your Heart

“who'll save the poor little girl?
oh, Henry…
who'll tell the story of her?
Henry Darger”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), Henry Darger

“speak to me
don't mislead me, the calm I feel means a storm is swelling
there's no telling where it starts or how it ends”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Blind Man's Zoo (1989), Trouble Me

“o, I need
the darkness
the sweetness
the sadness
the weakness
I need this”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), My Skin

“I've walked these streets
in the mad house asylum
they can be
where a wild eyed misfit prophet
on a traffic island stopped
and he raved of saving me”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Carnival

“take one last look behind
commit this to memory and mind
don't miss this wasteland, this terrible place
when you leave
keep your heart off your sleeve”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), Motherland

“your face saving promises
whispered like prayers
I don't need them”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), My Skin

“I don’t listen to anything on the radio but NPR and occasional oldies programs. I can’t comment on the content or format of most commercial radio but I have read the statistics about the step-by-step deregulation of FCC rules that has allowed monopolies like Clear Channel to buy up massive shares of the airwaves. This has damaged our business (music) and our culture (American). The internet is offering bold alternatives but a transistor radio is only $25.00 and not everyone is hooked up through a computer and high speed connection.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com

“once I was open, could hope, I had no doubt
but that was the worst thing that I could do”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), The Worst Thing

“hey Jack Kerouac
I think of your mother
and the tears she cried, she cried for none other
than her little boy lost in our little world that hated
and that dared to drag him down
her little boy courageous
who chose his words from mouths of
babes got lost in the wood
hip flask slinging madman, steaming cafe flirts
they all spoke through you”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Hey Jack Kerouac

“My drug period was between the age of 17 and 18. That was a time when I was experimenting with a lot of things, I was experimenting with sleep deprivation, fasting. The longest fast I ever did was 12 days. You go that long without food and you hallucinate. I would take this powder made out of guarana seed, my friend Mary would bake it up like cocoa in muffins and leave them on my doorstep. My drinking period was when I was 13, 14. Drugs fascinated me for a short period of time but not any more. A glass of wine puts me in a weird enough state.”

Natalie Merchant

NME (1 July 1995)

“talk, talk, talk about it
you talk as if you care
but when your talk is over
tilt that bottle in the air
tossing back more than your share”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Don't Talk

“So their eyes are growing hazy
'cause they want to turn it on
so their minds are soft and lazy
Well, hey, give 'em what they want”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Our Time In Eden (1992), Candy Everybody Wants

“trouble me
disturb me with all your cares and you worries
trouble me
on the days when you feel spent”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Blind Man's Zoo (1989), Trouble Me

“newspapers ask intimate questions
want confessions
they reach into my head
to steal the glory of my story”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Wonder

“don't talk, I will listen
don't talk, you keep your distance
I'd rather hear some truth tonight
than entertain your lies”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Don't Talk

“who do you believe?
who will you listen to
who will it be?
it's high time that you decide
in your own mind”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Life Is Sweet

“the color of the sky as far as I can see is coal gray
lift my head from the pillow and then fall again
with a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather
a quiver in my lips as if I might cry”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Like The Weather

“If I could calm or restrain you
for the sake of pity
save the pistol
save the cynic's tongue
save the cool white stare
treat me to an honest face sometime”

Natalie Merchant

"Scorpio Rising"
Song lyrics, The Wishing Chair (1985)

“where in hell can you go
far from the things that you know
far from the sprawl of concrete
that keeps crawling its way
about 1,000 miles a day?”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), Motherland

“Ophelia's mind went wandering
you'd wonder where she'd gone
through secret doors
down corridors
she'd wander them alone”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Ophelia

“take a look at my body
look at my hands
there's so much here
that I don't understand”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), My Skin

“let me
have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning
please don't hide them just because of tears”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Blind Man's Zoo (1989), Trouble Me

“where is the halo
that should glow 'round your face
and where are the wings that
should grow from your shoulder blades?”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), City of Angels

“motherland cradle me
close my eyes
lullaby me to sleep
keep me safe
lie with me
stay beside me
don't go, don't you go”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Motherland (2001), Motherland

“hey Jack
now for the tricky part
when you were the brightest star
who were the shadows?
of the San Francisco beat boys
you were the favorite
now they sit and rattle their bones
and think of their blood stoned days”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Hey Jack Kerouac

“you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Our Time In Eden (1992), These Are Days

“Ophelia was a circus queen
the female cannonball
projected through five flaming hoops
to wild and shocked applause…”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Ophelia (1998), Ophelia

“heaven, is this heaven where we are?”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), City of Angels

“threats like, "if you don't mind I will beat on your behind"
"slap you, slap you silly" made me say,
"o, what's the matter here?"”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), What's The Matter Here?

“doctors have come from distant cities
just to see me
stand over my bed
disbelieving what they're seeing
they say I must be one of the wonders
of god's own creation
and as far as they can see they can offer
no explanation”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Wonder

“I saw my first Henry Darger collage/paintings in the early 1980’s when the tale of Henry’s life was just emerging through rumor and scattered fragments of his book. He lived and died a recluse in Chicago where no one knew of his writings or paintings. There was a folk art gallery in New Orleans that had acquired a small pile of Realms of the Unreal illustrations. I was on tour with REM at the time, Michael Stipe and I visited the gallery where we had a first look at these images of seven little horrified girls pursued by a purple and orange winged cats or evil professors on horseback or resting peacefully under giant sunflowers. I was completely captivated and intrigued.”

Natalie Merchant

Quotes from NatalieMerchant.com

“have I been blind
have I been lost
inside myself and
my own mind
hypnotized
mesmerized
by what my eyes have seen?”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, Tigerlily (1995), Carnival

“see them walking, if you dare
if you call that walking
stumble, stagger, fall and drag themselves
along the streets of heaven”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), City of Angels

“what a cold and rainy day
where on earth is the sun hid away?”

Natalie Merchant

Song lyrics, In My Tribe (1987), Like The Weather

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