His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock and Cuban music.
Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Waits, Keith Richards, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, Electric Masada, The Lounge Lizards, Arto Lindsay and Medeski, Martin and Wood, as well as leading a number of his own bands such as Shrek, Los Cubanos Postizos and, currently, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog and the Marc Ribot Trio featuring Henry Grimes and Chad Taylor.
Ribot's earliest session work was featured on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs (1985) and helped define Waits' new musical direction. Ribot worked with Waits on many of his following albums including Franks Wild Years (1987), Big Time (1988), Mule Variations (1999), Real Gone (2004), Orphans (2006) and Bad as Me (2011). He has appeared on Elvis Costello's Spike, Mighty Like a Rose (1991), and Kojak Variety (1995). Ribot has appeared on numerous recordings by John Zorn, including many of Zorn's Filmworks recordings, solo performances on Zorn's Masada Guitars (also featuring Bill Frisell and Tim Sparks), and is a member of Zorn's Bar Kokhba Sextet and Electric Masada. Ribot's first two albums featured The Rootless Cosmopolitans, followed by an album of works by Frantz Casseus for solo guitar. Further releases found him working in a variety of band and solo contexts including two albums with his self-described "dance band", Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos (The Prosthetic Cubans), featuring compositions by Arsenio Rodríguez.
Ribot admitted to Guitar Player a relatively limited technical facility due to learning to play right-handed despite being left-handed: "That's a real limit, one that caused me a lot of grief when I was working with Jack McDuff and realizing I wasn't following in George Benson's footsteps. I couldn't be a straight-ahead jazz contender if you held a gun to my head, but that begs the question of whether I would want to be one."
He currently performs and records with his group Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog with bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith of the avant-garde band Secret Chiefs 3. Ribot's most current studio work involves several tracks accompanying the legendary pianist from John Coltrane's group, McCoy Tyner on his late 2008 album and DVD Guitars; which also features work with John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Béla Fleck, and Derek Trucks.
In late 2010, he toured Europe with his band SunShip (Mary Halvorson, Chad Taylor, Jason Ajemian).
A biographical documentary film about Marc Ribot was made, called The Lost String.
Ribot was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Martha My Dear
Marc Ribot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though I spend my days in conversation, please
Remember me
Martha, my love
Don't forget me
Martha, my dear
Hold your head up, you silly girl
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly girl
Take a good look around you
Take a good look you're bound to see
That you and me were meant to be
With each other
Silly girl
Hold you're hand out, you silly girl
See what you've done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly girl
Martha, my dear
You have always been my inspiration
Please, be good to me
Martha, my love
Don't forget me
Martha, my dear.
The lyrics to "Martha My Dear" by Marc Ribot are a love song addressed to the eponymous Martha, who serves as an inspiration to the singer. The song emphasizes the importance of not forgetting about one's partner and their love for each other, even when life gets in the way. The singer spends their days in conversation, but urges Martha to remember them and not forget their love. The phrase "Martha, my dear" is repeated throughout the song, conveying the singer's affection for Martha and the intimate nature of their relationship.
The lyrics also include the lines "Hold your head up, you silly girl/Look what you've done" and "Take a good look around you/Take a good look you're bound to see/That you and me were meant to be/With each other/Silly girl." These lines can be interpreted as the singer playfully scolding Martha for some mistake or teasing her for being "silly" in a lighthearted way. The song also suggests that Martha and the singer are meant to be together, and that they should take advantage of the world around them to help each other through difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Martha, my dear
Addressing a person named Martha with affection
Though I spend my days in conversation, please
Despite keeping occupied all day, a request to remember the singer
Remember me
A request to not forget the singer
Martha, my love
Addressing a person named Martha with fondness
Don't forget me
A plea to be remembered
Hold your head up, you silly girl
An admonishment to keep one's chin up despite errors
Look what you've done
Acknowledging the errors made by the addressee
When you find yourself in the thick of it
In times of trouble or confusion
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
An advice to seek solace in surroundings
Silly girl
An endearing term used to soften the criticism
Take a good look around you
Suggesting taking a moment to survey one's surroundings
Take a good look you're bound to see
Implying that if one pays attention, things become clear
That you and me were meant to be
Intimating that the singer and Martha belong together
With each other
Together, as a team
Hold you're hand out, you silly girl
Asking the addressee to offer a handshake as a gesture of truce
See what you've done
Recalling mistakes made by the addressee
You have always been my inspiration
A declaration of admiration for Martha
Please, be good to me
A request to be treated kindly
Martha, my dear
Closing with another term of endearment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, JOHN WINSTON LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind