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THE BEAT GENERATION'S INFLUENCE ON NATALIE MERCHANT
BY
PRESIDENT OF THE LBSNMFC
Natalie Merchant is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed artists of the past decade. With her quadruple platinum debut solo album, Tigerlily, her famous live cover of Patti Smith’s "Because the Night," and her co-headlining the 1998 Lilith Fair tour, Merchant remains a guiding force in the music industry. Never one to shy away from expressing her personal beliefs and opinions, Merchant has been quite vocal about the influence of the authors of the Beat Generation on her songwriting. This influence can be traced through the three distinct phases of Merchant’s songwriting career: the youthful righteousness she shared with the early 10,000 Maniacs, the artistic oppression she felt with the later Maniacs, and finally the artistic freedom she now experiences as a solo artist.
Merchant’s youthful self-righteousness was evident early in her career. Though Merchant joined 10,000 Maniacs as the lead singer in 1981, she did not begin composing music until 1986 (@Natalie). The Maniacs’ first album with Merchant as the principal songwriter was 1987’s In My Tribe. Merchant’s indignation was clear on many songs, but none more so than the Beat-inspired "Hey Jack Kerouac." Despite its title, the song was inspired by all the Beat authors, with Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs getting special mentions in the song. At the young age of 24, the pharisaic songwriter was simultaneously drawn and repulsed by the lifestyle of the Beats. This was evident in an interview from 1987 where she stated, "I’m suspicious of a lot of the Beat Generation’s activities…they led a lifestyle that was pretty incredible for the time- to be leaping in a car and driving across the country high on amphetamines…talking about philosophy and writing books is a real experimental way of life" (Irwin). This dichotomy was present in "Kerouac", as Merchant fondly described certain characteristics of the Beat lifestyle while, simultaneously condemning others.
In the song "Hey Jack Kerouac," Merchant mentioned all aspects of the Beat Generation’s lifestyle, from Kerouac’s "Mémêre" to Ginsberg’s homosexuality. Merchant also condemned the over popularization of the Beats that led to the image of the beatniks of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Referring to Kerouac’s popularity after the publication of his novel, On the Road, Merchant called the author the "brightest star." She also noted Ginsberg’s poem "Howl" as another factor that led to the over popularization of the Beats. In addition, Merchant self-righteously criticized how, as she put it, "Kerouac burned himself out and drank himself to death" (Irwin). In the final line of the song, Merchant wrote of the pain and anger caused by Kerouac’s sudden and untimely death, "What a tear stained shock of the world, you’ve gone away without saying goodbye." Merchant’s youthful self-righteousness faded as she became a more skillful songwriter. However, in time, she started to feel the strain of having worked with only the same group of fellow musicians her entire professional career.
By 1992, Merchant was approaching 30 years old, and the artistic oppression she felt was evident in her songwriting. Merchant’s last studio album with the Maniacs was 1992’s Our Time in Eden. The first track of the album, "Noah’s Dove", was a wonderfully multi-layered song that could be viewed in numerous ways. In "Dove," Merchant beautifully presented her need to leave the group and the guilt she felt about it through the point of view of the women the Beat authors often left behind. The song is written in the first person perspective, with the person being left behind speaking to the individual who is leaving. Therefore the song could simultaneously be viewed as Merchant’s way of experiencing the Maniacs’ anger at her leaving the group and as a narrative of the emotional predicament of the Beat women. Merchant believed that, "a lot of the ways that women are portrayed in his [Kerouac’s] books…was a very one-sided way" (Irwin). So it is no surprise that, to express how she felt about leaving the band, she used the perspective of a woman being left behind by one of the Beats.
The narrator of the song appeared to be a woman very similar to Camille from On the Road. Lines like, "…telling lies like that, so well that I believed it. I never felt cheated" summarized Camille’s accepting nature. An example of this would be how Camille always trusted and loved Dean Moriarty, despite his having an affair with his first wife, Marylou, while married to her. Further, Merchant alluded to the Beats’ reckless driving and Dean’s naïveté towards certain aspects of life. Merchant also wrote, "your time was set for leaving, come a colder season," and, "it’s never too late for a chance to seize some final breath of freedom," in reference to Dean’s annual road trips between the east and west coasts. Merchant’s artistic oppression reached its zenith with Our Time in Eden, with numerous songs in addition to "Dove" foretelling of her pending departure from the Maniacs in search of creative independence.
Along with the artistic freedom that Merchant wielded in her most recent album, Ophelia, was the ever-present influence of the Beats on her songwriting. Ophelia was dedicated to Allen Ginsberg who died a year before the album’s release in 1998. While participating Patti Smith’s memorial ceremony for Ginsberg last May, Merchant explained her connection to the late poet, "One thing I learned about Allen was that he was friends with people of all ages and that he encouraged young artists…" (Coia). On her newest album, Merchant was inspired by Ginsberg to write the song "King of May."
Named after Ginsberg’s self-proclaimed 1968 title, "King" was obviously meant as a tribute to an artist who greatly influenced Merchant’s work. Merchant used the death of the "crazy mother’s son" as a metaphor for the response Ginsberg’s writing received from the literary community throughout his life. She began by saying that the people should make a cardboard crown for the King of May. Meaning that his work was originally considered common and unexceptional before the publication of "Howl" in 1956. The King was then given a decent place for his burial, symbolizing Ginsberg’s acceptance by the writing community. Finally Merchant addressed Ginsberg’s, "becoming part of the literary establishment that I think he was trying to throw out," with the line, "Make ready for the last King of May, Make a hole in the sky for him" (Coia). "King" was the most recent product of the continued development of Merchant’s songwriting and the inspiration of the Beats.
The influence of the Beat Generation was present throughout Merchant’s development as a songwriter. As Merchant matured in her songwriting ability, so did the influence of the Beats on her work. On "Hey Jack Kerouac," Merchant merely presented her opinions about the lifestyle of the Beats. By the time she wrote "Noah’s Dove," however, Merchant progressed to the point where she could utilize the situation of the Beat women as a metaphor for her own life. Most recently, on "King of May," Merchant was able to use her artistic freedom to musically chronicle the life of an artist she greatly admired. Due to complex relationship between the songwriter and the authors, by studying the artwork of each group I have gained a greater insight into the work of both Natalie Merchant and the Beat Generation.
Hey Jack Kerouac
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.
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.
You chose your words from mouths of babes got lost in the wood.
The hip flask slinging madman,
steaming cafe flirts,
nights in Chinatown howling at night.
Allen baby,
why so jaded? Have the boys all grown up and their beauty faded?
Billy, what a saint they've made you,
just like Mary down in Mexico on All Souls' Day.
You chose your words from mouths of babes got lost in the wood.
Cool junk booting madmen,
street minded girls in Harlem howling at night.
What a tear-stained shock of the world,
you've gone away without saying goodbye.
Noah's Dove
You win a prize for that,
for telling lies like that so well that I believed it.
I never felt cheated.
You were the chosen one,
the pure eyes of Noah's dove.
Choir boys and angels stole your lips and your halo.
In your reckless mind,
you act as if you've got more lives.
In your reckless eyes,
you only have time and your love of danger--to it you’re no stranger.
In that August breeze of those forgotten trees,
your time was set for leaving,
come a colder season.
In your reckless mind,
you act as if you've got more lives.
In your reckless eyes, it's never too late for a chance to seize some final breath of freedom.
Very, so very wise.
Don't reveal it.
I'm tired, tired of knowing where it is you're going.
In your reckless mind,
you act as if you've got more lives.
In your reckless eyes,
you only have time and your love of danger--to it you're no stranger.
In your reckless mind,
you act as if you've got more lives.
In your reckless eyes,
it's never too late for a chance to seize some final breath of freedom.
King of May
Farewell today
Travel on now
Be on your way
Go safely there
And never worry, Never care
Beyond this day
Farewell tonight
To all joy and to all the life
Go on, go peacefully
We can't keep your majesty
Be on your way
Make ready for the last king of May
Make a cardboard crown for him
And make your voices one
Praise a crazy mother's son, who loved his life
Farewell today
Travel on now
Be on your way
Can't bear the very thought that we
That we could keep your majesty
Be on your way
Make ready for the last king of May
Make a hole in the ground for him
Raise your voices up
Drink your loving cup
To his long life
To his long life
Make ready for the last king of May
Make a hole in the sky for him
Raise your voices up
Lift your loving cup
To his long life
To his long life
His long life
And raise your voices up
Lift your loving cup
To his long life
To his long life
To his long life
To his long life
@Natalie, Natalie Merchant Web site. 1 Nov. 1998. 5 Nov. 1998.
Coia, Jennifer. "Allen Ginsberg Memorial." Natalie Merchant Online 24 May 1997. 10 Nov. 1998.
Irwin, Colin. "Natalie Merchant is One in 10,000." Folk Roots Dec. 1987. 8 Nov 1998.
