Meredith Monk is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wid… Read Full Bio ↴Meredith Monk is primarily known for her vocal innovations, including a wide range of extended techniques, which she first developed in her solo performances before forming her own ensemble. In 1964, she graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and in 1968 she founded The House, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance. Her performances influenced many artists, including Bruce Nauman, whomst she met in San Francisco in 1968. In 1978 Monk formed the ensemble called Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble (modelled after similar ensembles of musical colleagues such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass) to explore new and wider vocal textures and forms which often were contrasted with minimal instrumental textures. Powerful and influential pieces from this time include Dolmen Music (1979), which also was recorded for her first album released at Manfred Eicher's record label ECM in 1981. In the 1980s she wrote and directed two films, Ellis Island (1981), and Book of Days (1988), which developed from a single idea; "One day during summer of 1984, as I was sweeping the floor of my house in the country, the image of a young girl (in black and white) and a medieval street in the Jewish community (also in black and white) came to me", as Monk recounts in the liner notes of the ECM-recording. Apart from the film, different versions exist of this piece: two for the concert hall, and an album, explained by Meredith Monk and Manfred Eicher as "a film for the ears." In the early 1990s Monk composed an opera - Atlas which premiered in Houston in 1991. More recently, while continuing her work for her ensemble, she began writing for instrumental ensembles and symphony orchestra - her first symphonic work, Possible Sky (2003), and Stringsongs (2004), commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. In 2005, events were held all over the world celebrating the 40th anniversary of her career. These included a concert in Carnegie Hall, featuring Björk, whose singing is fundamentally indebted to Monk's, and others, including the composers Terry Riley, DJ Spooky (who has sampled her on his album "Drums of Death"), and John Zorn and the new music ensembles Alarm Will Sound and Bang on a Can All-Stars, along with the Pacific Mozart Ensemble.

She has won many awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, and she holds honorary Doctor of Arts degrees from Bard College, the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), The Julliard School, the San Francisco Art Institute and the Boston Conservatory.

Her music was used in films by Joel and Ethan Coen (The Big Lebowski, 1998) and Jean-Luc Godard (Nouvelle Vague, 1990 and Notre musique, 2004).

In a recent interview she said that her favourite music includes Brazilian music, especially Caetano Veloso's recordings, the music by Mildred Bailey ("the great jazz singer from the ‘30s and ‘40s"), and Bartok's cycle for piano Mikrokosmos.

Turtle Dreams
Meredith Monk Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH

AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AHI went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
I went
I went to the store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store
I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH
AH

AH
AH

Overall Meaning

As a lyrics interpreter, it is important to understand the context in which the lyrics are presented to analyze its meaning. "Turtle Dreams" is a song by Meredith Monk that has a unique quality primarily because most of the lyrics in the song consist of one line – "I went to the store" – and are repeated multiple times throughout the song with many variations. This repetition creates an almost hypnotic state where the listener is drawn in by the rhythm and tonality of the music, rather than the lyrics themselves. The vocalization and intonation of each repetition hold the key to interpretation based on what the listener might infer.

The song is incredibly minimalistic and seemingly repetitive, but when pondered upon, one can derive a meaning out of it that is relevant to one's life. The song teaches us the importance of routine and the repetition of tasks that make our lives easier in the long run. It suggests that daily tasks might seem trivial, but they carry immense value in making everything we do more efficient and manageable. The repetition of one line throughout the song becomes a metaphor for the monotony of daily life.

Line by Line Meaning

I went
I embarked on a journey

I went to the store
I visited a retail establishment

I went to the STORE, store, store
I visited a particular store and emphasized it with repetition

I went to the STORE, store, store, store, store
I emphasized the specific store with even more repetition

AH
An exclamation of surprise or realization

AH AH I went
A continuation of the previous statement, expressing a sense of wonder about the journey

Contributed by Oliver C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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01Turtle Dreams

Meredith Monk

02Turtle Dreams (waltz)0:01

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Comments from YouTube:

@hatehatehateforever

8y↑52

Esta canción es una locura!! No puedo dejar de escucharla

@J.P.Belcher

8y↑504

Not to sound disparaging, but this is bizarre, almost beyond comprehension, but in a way I find fascinating. I've struggled to find anyone else who can watch it all the way through, but must have watched it a dozen times by now. I think a lot of people just find it too avant garde to appreciate the impressive talent of these vocalists.

@bianchikat

9y↑69

ive been listening to Atlas again today and found this on youtube, there was another version years ago with the lovely blue starry background as on my vinyl LP. I first saw it on Channell 4 TV in 1983 and it stunned me..I saw Meredith ad her ensemble twice in England both times fantastic and moving..