Born and raised in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, Chris Merritt began experimenting with songwriting at age 7. Support and encouragement from family, friends, and even an influential babysitter helped Chris have the confidence to further pursue his passion for composition. Piano happened to be the first available means for Chris' creative expression and his talent and technical ability were quickly evident on the instrument. Chris, however, was equally intrigued by percussion, guitar, saxophone, and his own voice. He toyed with as many sounds as were available to him and constantly searched for more sonic possibilities.
During his impressionable teenage years, Chris became heavily influenced by rock and jazz artists alike. The sounds of Weezer, Nirvana, Ben Folds, and Billy Joel were mixed with artists such as Marcus Roberts and Dave Brubeck. Drawing from his musical influences and his own original compositions and ideas, Chris founded the band Paperface in the late 90s, performing often throughout high school and into college. His obvious choice to study music at the university level was complimented with a major in sound recording and engineering which seemed to be the natural next step to pursue as Chris desired to have more creative control over the expression of his musical ideas.
Upon graduation from college, Chris and Paperface made the move to Southern California to more closely collaborate with Takeover Records, to which the band signed in early 2005. Touring throughout the US, Paperface quickly gained a loyal following and hoped to make their mark in the rock world. Their plans were cut short, however, after musical differences and band member disputes broke up the group in 2006. Shortly after the breakup, Chris and original Paperface member Roland Osborne started the band Upperville, named after Chris' home town in Virginia. Conflicting life plans soon ended Upperville as well and Chris made the decision to begin writing and performing under his own name backed by bassist Dave Fujinami and drummer Chris Walvoord. With this trio, Chris recorded his latest album, "Hello, Little Captain."
2007 was a year of more decisions and changes as Chris realized that the atmosphere of Southern California was not for him and made the ten hour drive to Utah reconnecting with childhood friend and drummer, Tim Fellow. Chris quickly found an ideal fit for a bassist in Provo native Dustin Hofheins, and thus formed Chris' current group. The natural beauty and enthusiastic fans of Utah were reason enough for Chris to trade the Blue Ridge for the Rockies as the mountains have once again proved fertile for Chris Merritt's obsessive yet sincere songwriting talent.
Chris and band have toured throughout the nation over the past year hitting both coasts and several markets in-between.
Chris, Dustin and Tim toured Japan in June for a 10-show headlining tour and returned home to release the much album, "Pixie and the Bear" on June 21.
The Long Road
Chris Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a twinkle in your eye and it's giving you away
Get with it lady, stop trying to hide
There's a demon by your side and you're never gonna catch me
I took the long road
I took the longest way
I took the wrong road
I'm sorry I was blinded by my love and I thought that I was tough
But there's nothing gonna change me
I see you in the corner with the ropes down, waiting for the next round
You're never gonna get me
I took the long road
I took the longest way
I took the wrong road
I took the wrongest way
Yeah
I took the long road
I took the longest way
I took the wrong road
I took the wrongest way
I knew it when I heard you say cocaine
I knew it when we ran into your boyfriend
Out there on the street, with his new girl
And we were stuck with what he left you
Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm
Now we're being wounded by the fray
I thought that there was hope, I thought that I could cope
But the more I try to swallow this the more I just choke
This is not a joke, this is not a joke
I can feel the rope tighten on my throat
And is there another way?
We made it through the day
But still you're smiling and I'm thinking that we're doing okay
But then crying and remembering and now we're up late
(Open your eyes)
And my eyes are barely open and I'm hearing you say
Can you see me straight?
Can you see me straight?
Do you see me straight?
Do you see me straight, or am I a blurry line?
Oh, but can you see me straight?
Do I see you straight?
Can you see me straight?
Do you see me straight, or am I a blurry line?
I took the long road
I took the longest way
I took the wrong road
I took the wrongest way
Hey
I took the long road
I took the longest way
I took the wrong road
I took the wrongest way
I see you, you can stop trying to hide
There's a twinkle in your eye and it's giving you away
I see you, you can stop trying to hide
There's a twinkle in your eye and it's giving you away
The lyrics to Chris Merritt's song The Long Road seem to be about a relationship that has gone wrong. The singer seems to be addressing a woman who is trying to hide something, though there is a "twinkle in her eye" that is giving her away. The singer seems to be accusing her of having a "demon" by her side that she will never be able to shake, and it is driving a wedge between them. The singer then takes responsibility for the situation by admitting that he took the wrong road and is sorry that he was blinded by his love and thought he was tough. However, in the end, it seems as though the two are still struggling with their relationship and wondering if they can see each other straight or if their vision of each other is blurry.
The lyrics are emotional and seem to speak to the complicated nature of relationships, particularly ones that have gone sour. They suggest that there are often hidden demons that can cause trouble and that sometimes relationships follow a long, winding, and wrong path. Ultimately, the lyrics seem to be asking whether it's possible to see each other clearly and whether they can find a way to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
I see you, you can stop trying to hide
I perceive that you are trying to conceal something
There's a twinkle in your eye and it's giving you away
Your eyes reveal that you are giving in to your emotions
Get with it lady, stop trying to hide
Come to terms with what you're feeling and stop hiding
There's a demon by your side and you're never gonna catch me
You are being tormented by your inner demons and I cannot stay
I took the long road
I chose the most difficult path to take
I took the longest way
I chose the most time-consuming and strenuous route
I took the wrong road
I made a mistake and chose the incorrect path
I took the wrongest way
I made the worst possible choice
I'm sorry I was blinded by my love and I thought that I was tough
I regret that my emotions clouded my judgement and I was overly confident
But there's nothing gonna change me
I am unwilling to change who I am
You're never gonna get me
You will never understand me
I knew it when I heard you say cocaine
I realized we were going down a dangerous path when you mentioned drugs
Out there on the street, with his new girl
We saw your ex-boyfriend with his new partner in public
And we were stuck with what he left you
We were left to deal with the emotional baggage he left you with
I thought that there was hope, I thought that I could cope
I believed that we could overcome our problems and that I could handle it
But the more I try to swallow this the more I just choke
The more I try to deal with this situation, the harder it becomes
This is not a joke, this is not a joke
This is a serious matter that cannot be taken lightly
I can feel the rope tighten on my throat
I am experiencing the intense pressure of the situation
And is there another way?
Is there a different solution to our problems?
We made it through the day
We survived the challenges of the day
But still you're smiling and I'm thinking that we're doing okay
Despite everything, you appear to be content and I think we're handling it well
But then crying and remembering and now we're up late
But then the tears come and we are up late, lost in thought
(Open your eyes)
Wake up and pay attention
And my eyes are barely open and I'm hearing you say
I am exhausted but I can hear you speaking
Can you see me straight?
Can you truly understand me?
Do you see me straight?
Do you truly understand me?
Do you see me straight, or am I a blurry line?
Do you truly understand me, or am I still unclear to you?
Hey
Expression to grab attention
I see you, you can stop trying to hide
I sense that you're trying to keep something from me
There's a twinkle in your eye and it's giving you away
Your eyes reveal that you're not being truthful or sincere
I took the long road
I chose the most difficult path to take
I took the longest way
I chose the most time-consuming and strenuous route
I took the wrong road
I made a mistake and chose the incorrect path
I took the wrongest way
I made the worst possible choice
Contributed by Claire M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.