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".
Wild Is the Wind
Cat Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me fly away with you.
We are creatures of the wind,
Wild is the wind.
Give me more than one caress,
Satisfy this hungriness.
We are creatures of the wind,
Wild is the wind.
You touched me, I hear the sound
Of mandolins. You kissed me,
With your kiss my life begins.
Like a leaf clings to a tree,
Baby, please, cling to me.
We are creatures of the wind,
Wild is the wind.
You touched me, I hear the sound
Of mandolins. And you kissed me,
With your kiss my life begins.
Love me, love me. Say you do.
Let me fly away with you.
Cat Power's song "Wild Is the Wind" is a beautiful expression of passion, intimacy, and desire. The song talks about two people who are deeply in love with each other and ready to fly away together like creatures of the wind. The words "wild is the wind" perfectly describes the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of love. The singer is asking her lover to love her and satisfy her hunger with more than one caress. She compares their love to a leaf clinging to a tree, wanting her lover to cling to her, to be her shelter and support.
The verse "You touched me, I hear the sound of mandolins" is a reference to a famous scene from the movie "Wild is the Wind" (1957) starring Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn. The scene features a passionate embrace between the two main characters, during which the background music prominently features the sound of mandolins. This association creates a powerful image of romantic love, and the singer uses it to convey the intensity of her feelings.
Overall, "Wild Is the Wind" is a beautiful and poetic song that captures the essence of love and its profound impact on our lives. The singer's voice is hauntingly vulnerable and emotional, adding an extra layer of depth and intimacy to the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Love me, love me. Say you do.
The singer is expressing a desire for love, asking for assurance of reciprocation from the listener.
Let me fly away with you.
The singer wants to escape with the listener, and indicates a desire to experience something new and exciting.
We are creatures of the wind, Wild is the wind.
The singer is suggesting that humans are changeable and difficult to predict, with moods and desires that can vary like the wind.
Give me more than one caress, Satisfy this hungriness.
The singer wants more than just a surface level interaction, but is craving a deeper emotional connection.
You touched me, I hear the sound Of mandolins.
The singer is describing the physical sensation of being touched by the listener, and experiencing a pleasant emotional response.
You kissed me, With your kiss my life begins.
The singer feels that the kiss was transformative, marking the beginning of a new stage in their life.
Like a leaf clings to a tree, Baby, please, cling to me.
The singer is asking for the listener's affection and hoping they will remain steadfast in their relationship, comparing it to the dependability of a leaf clinging to a tree.
Love me, love me. Say you do.
The singer restates their earlier request for love and validation from the listener.
Let me fly away with you.
The song ends with a repeat of the earlier suggestion of escape, with the singer asking for the listener to join them in a journey into the unknown.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ned Washington, Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ocracoke2013
The movie "Into the Forest" brought me here. I saw Cat Power around 2007 in Chapel Hill, NC at a place next to Cat's Cradle. I was on a blind date. She hated the "concert." You have to understand, Cat was considered a "freak of nature" then, and maybe now? Even among my most wild ass friends they didn't like her music. She was waaaay too out there. Even I don't know where too out there is. I didn't know anything about her. I watched a few videos before the concert and was intrigued to say the least. The show, it was a magical experience. And I have been to 1000 concerts. None do I remember like that. It was just her, and a violinist, as far as I remember. Maybe the best musical experience I have ever had.
@leopoldooliver4771
"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. Johnny Mathis recorded the song for the film and released it as a single in November 1957. Mathis' version reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1958." It didn't win. But it was nominated!
@megslegs19
No matter how many times I hear her sing. I just cant seem to get enough. hypnotic and very beautiful!
@alicec-m3403
i love the line ‘like a leaf clings to a tree, baby please cling to me’ .. true desperation for love.
@AutumnBreez
She is everything. Literally. 🖤
@ReasonableForseeability
Figuratively, not literally, silly!
@lisamachat6566
If only I could have played this for my soul mate before he died....instead I listen and remember...one day we will both be in the wind again xxx
@erikh.5679
Love you....
@stephaniegill4516
Can totally relate. I lost my husband and this song makes me think of him
@leanananielsen2098
😥❤🙏