After dropping out of high school, Marshall started performing under the name Cat Power, while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. She soon moved to New York City, New York, United States in 1992, then later opening for Liz Phair in 1994, she met Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee. In 1996 she was signed to Matador Records, and released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News".
Shortly following the release of What Would the Community Think Marshall disappeared from the musical scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with boyfriend Bill Callahan (who performs under the name Smog). The plan was to permanently retire from music but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs. These songs would make up the bulk of Moon Pix. The album was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne in eleven days with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three. The album was well-received by critics, and gained her recognition in the indie rock scene. However, during the subsequent tours she grew tired of her own material. This resulted in a series of shows during 1999 involving Marshall providing musical accompaniment to a series of screenings of the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and many covers, many of which would later see release on The Covers Record, a collection of cover songs recorded at various sessions in 1998 and 1999. A selection of covers that didn't make it on to the album were recorded at Peel Acres, home of the highly influential and legendary British DJ John Peel. The session was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show and featured Marshall's own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" amongst others.
In 2003 she resumed releasing original material with You Are Free, a diverse and critically acclaimed album that featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and the Dirty Three's Warren Ellis.
2004 saw the release of Speaking for Trees, a critically polarizing DVD which featured a single two-hour static shot of Marshall performing in a woodland. It was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", which featured M. Ward on guitar. 2005 found Cat Power out on the road again, touring the world and playing sold-out solo shows, including an Australian tour supporting Nick Cave. The shows largely consisted of material for her next album.
Cat Power's seventh record, The Greatest, was released in January, 2006. This was not a "Greatest Hits" record but rather a collaboration with Al Green's guitarist Teenie Hodges and many other well-known R&B musicians. A tour followed in the fall of 2006.
Early in 2006, Marshall announced the cancellation of her upcoming United States tour, citing "health-related issues". A few days later, Matador announced the cancellation of her two shows in London and Paris. She resumed touring in April 2006, playing some of the most well received shows of her career both with the Memphis Rhythm Band and as a solo performer.
In 2007, she played live music for the spring/ summer Chanel Haute Couture collection in Paris and appeared in Wong Kar Wai's film My Blueberry Nights as Katya. Also in 2007, she became the first female ever to win the Shortlist Music Prize when The Greatest was voted album of the year in June. Earlier in the year she was nominated in the Best International Female category at the annual Brit Awards, alongside more mainstream artists like Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado.
On January 22, 2008, Cat Power released a second collection of covers called Jukebox--her eighth LP overall. It included versions of songs by artists such as Hank Williams, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin.
Since then, she has released an EP called "The Dark End of the Street" on vinyl, only.
Cat Power released her first original song since 2008 just before Christmas 2011 when an MP3 of "King Rides By" was made available on her official site, in exchange for a donation of at least $0.99 to the Festival of Children Foundation and the Ali Forney Center charities. (King Rides By Songfacts).
In 2012, Cat Power released her 9th studio album, Sun which received generally positive reviews from critics. The album was included in several year-end lists by music critics and publications. Rolling Stone magazine, in their list of the "50 Best Albums of 2012", ranked it at sixteenth place, writing "the idea of the brilliantly morose Chan Marshall making a dance-rock record is almost absurd. Yet the groove-powered Sun is a perfect fit." The A.V. Club placed the album at number twenty-two on their list of the "Best Albums of 2012." Billboard also placed the album at number nine in their list of the "10 Best Albums of 2012."The L.A. Times and Filter magazine both placed the album at number six in their lists of the best albums of 2012. Sun was also included on two separate "Best Music of 2012" lists compiled by NPR, appearing at number five on the list compiled by Bob Boilen,while topping the list compiled by Robin Hilton. The album was also listed twenty-eighth on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012. Thus, becoming Cat Power's most successful original album.
In April 2015, Marshall announced that she recently had a baby.
In February 2016, Marshall had to cancel her New Zealand shows due to health reasons. According to an official press release, this is the first time in Marshall's 18-year touring history she has been forced to postpone, but is "determined to make it back ASAP, and in good health".
In This Hole
Cat Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We get further and further and further
For what
We must do
I saw you asleep beside a hole
Your skull inside a hole
Your eyes blankened by the sound
Where should I hang my head?
Where would you like for me
To hang my head
One absent truth
The one horrible thing I saw
What you truly wanted to become
And who you thought I was
The fall, the fall,
Afraid, the blood
Runs deeper than the grave
It goes all the way down those tracks
Everybody bow your head
For the greatest inspiration
A complete contradiction
Of ways.
In this hole that we have fixed
We get further and further
For what we must do
I know this, I know this
You know this, you know this
In this hole that we have fixed
We get further and further and further
For what we must do.
I saw you outside that hole
Your skull girl outside that hole
Your eyes glistened by the sound
And the light of God.
The lyrics of Cat Power's song In This Hole speak to a sense of isolation and introspection. The hole could be a metaphor for a seemingly inescapable situation or state of mind that the singer and perhaps others have found themselves in. The opening lines suggest that in attempting to fix this hole, they actually find themselves getting farther and farther away from something they feel they should be doing, or perhaps from a sense of purpose or progress.
The imagery of seeing someone asleep beside a hole with their skull inside is striking and unsettling. It conveys a sense of being trapped or buried alive, but also carries religious connotations with the mention of God. The line "Your eyes blankened by the sound" adds an auditory element to the imagery, as if there is a deafening silence or absence of sound around the hole.
The repetition of the question "Where should I hang my head?" suggests a sense of shame or guilt. The singer wants to know where they are allowed to feel contrite and where they might be able to find some kind of redemption. The mention of an "absent truth" and "the one horrible thing I saw" hints at a past trauma or transgression that haunts the singer.
The lines "Everybody bow your head / For the greatest inspiration / A complete contradiction / Of ways" seem to be pointing to some kind of larger cultural or societal context. The singer is urging others to pay attention to someone or something that is both inspiring and contradictory, perhaps pointing to the idea that sometimes it is within the most flawed or problematic aspects of society that there is potential for growth or change.
Overall, the lyrics of In This Hole offer a cryptic and introspective look into the state of being trapped or isolated, with a touch of spirituality and larger societal commentary.
Line by Line Meaning
Here in this hole that we fixed
We are in a situation that we have created ourselves.
We get further and further and further
Our situation is becoming increasingly worse.
For what
We are not sure why we are in this situation.
We must do
We believe that we must continue with our current actions, even if they are leading us deeper into the hole.
I saw you asleep beside a hole
I observed you unconscious, lying next to a pit.
Your skull inside a hole
Your cranium was positioned within the confines of the hole.
Your eyes blankened by the sound
Your sight was obscured by an unidentifiable noise or sonic vibration.
And the thought of God
This sound or vibration may have been spiritual in nature, inspiring thoughts of a higher power.
Where should I hang my head?
I am ashamed of who I am and do not know where to turn.
Where would you like for me
I am willing to accept advice from others to help me find my way.
To hang my head
I am willing to show humility and deference to those I seek guidance from.
One absent truth
There is a vital truth missing from our situation that would help us understand it better.
The one horrible thing I saw
There is something troubling and traumatic that haunts me, that I can not forget.
What you truly wanted to become
There is an ideal self that others want to become, different than the reality that they are.
And who you thought I was
There is a misunderstanding about who I truly am vs. who others believe I am.
The fall, the fall,
The decline or failure of something significant.
Afraid, the blood
Fear and tension building as the situation becomes more dangerous.
Runs deeper than the grave
The fear is so great that it is more profound than death itself.
It goes all the way down those tracks
The fear and danger is so prevalent that it pervades everything in life.
Everybody bow your head
It is a time for all to be humble and show respect.
For the greatest inspiration
Salvation and healing may come from a higher power.
A complete contradiction
This contrary situation is complex and difficult to understand.
Of ways.
There are many paths out of this difficult situation, but none seem clear or certain.
We get further and further
Our situation is worsening.
I know this, I know this
We are starting to realize the severity of our situation.
You know this, you know this
Others around me also realize that our present circumstance is difficult and troubling.
In this hole that we have fixed
Our current dilemma is a direct result of the actions we have taken.
We get further and further and further
Despite our situation, we continue to dig ourselves deeper into a hole.
For what we must do.
We feel that despite the severity of our situation, we must continue with what we are doing.
I saw you outside that hole
I saw you begin to emerge from this dark situation.
Your skull girl outside that hole
This situation has caused pain and trauma for you.
Your eyes glistened by the sound
You seem to feel a sense of spiritual awakening or enlightenment.
And the light of God.
You believe that a higher power has shown you the way out of this difficult situation.
Lyrics © HIPGNOSIS SONGS GROUP
Written by: MARSHALL, CAT POWER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Pumkinghead
on He-War
i love the cats