Michael Penn (born August 1, 1958, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is … Read Full Bio ↴Michael Penn (born August 1, 1958, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the son of actor/director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and the brother of actors Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn.

Prior to the release of his 1989 debut album March, Penn performed the song "This & That" with his band The Pull on a 1987 episode of Saturday Night Live. Before that, he was a member of the Los Angeles band Doll Congress and had appeared as an extra on a few television series, including St. Elsewhere.

March, particularly the first single, "No Myth," brought Penn attention, as well as the 1990 MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. Penn's follow-up albums Free-for-All (1992), Resigned (1997) and MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident (2000) weren't able to match the success of March, although critics praised his songcraft.

Penn met fellow singer-songwriter Aimee Mann in the late 1980s, and during the recording of her album I'm With Stupid (to which Penn contributed vocals), the two struck up a friendship, which blossomed into romance and their 1997 marriage. Together with manager Michael Hausman they formed United Musicians, which is based on the idea of allowing artists to keep copyright ownership of their works and to assist with their promotion and distribution. Penn and Mann live in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. They have no children, but Penn has a son from a previous marriage.

He moved into film scoring after repeated requests from director Paul Thomas Anderson, who had apparently listened to Free-for-All extensively while writing his first feature Hard Eight and wanted Penn to score the film. Penn also scored Anderson's follow-up Boogie Nights (in which he appeared briefly as a recording engineer), The Anniversary Party, Melvin Goes to Dinner and the documentary The Comedians of Comedy.

His fifth album, Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947, was released August 2, 2005, on Mimeograph Records (Penn's own label) and SpinART Records. Penn has said that the album, which may be the first of two parts, is set after World War II and involves "the trauma that a war brings to a person's psychology." [1]

Penn's music "Walter Reed" was used in the fifth episode of House MD's third season, "Fools For Love".

Comfort
Michael Penn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

...And you want to impress
That you love me more or less
Which of us will be first
To get off
To get hurt

When you come too close for comfort
Come too close for comfort

Much too close for comfort
Too close for comfort

And on line
The acrobat
Who has got his act down pat
Balance rules of etiquette
Until you hang another net

If I get too close for comfort
Come too close for comfort
Much too close for comfort
Too close for comfort

Much too close for comfort

Who comes clean?
Who'll confess?
Who was my second guess?
All that's left you to address is
Will you love me more or less?

When I come too close for comfort
Come too close for comfort
Much too close for comfort

Too close for comfort
Much too close for comfort

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Michael Penn's song "Comfort" are an introspective commentary on the vulnerability and potential pain that comes with emotional intimacy. The opening lines suggest a hesitancy to fully express feelings, as the singer ponders who will be the first to "get off" or "get hurt." In the subsequent verses, Penn uses the imagery of an acrobat performing death-defying stunts to illustrate the delicate nature of human relationships. The acrobat metaphor also alludes to the pressure put on individuals to maintain "balance rules of etiquette" in social situations.

Throughout the song, Penn plays with the idea of what is "too close for comfort" - at times suggesting that emotional closeness is commendable, while at other times warning of the risks involved. The repeated refrain of "much too close for comfort" also highlights the overwhelming nature of intense emotions. The final lines of the song appeal to the listener's sense of security and desire for commitment, asking simply, "Will you love me more or less?" Overall, "Comfort" is a thoughtful exploration of the complexities of human connection.

Line by Line Meaning

...And you want to impress
You seem to be trying hard to impress me.

That you love me more or less
You want to make it clear whether you love me more or less.

Which of us will be first
We both are hesitant and wondering who will take the first step.

To get off
To exit from this uncertain situation.

To get hurt
To be emotionally hurt in this uncertain situation.

When you come too close for comfort
When you become too close and invade my personal space.

Come too close for comfort
Repeating the earlier line.

Much too close for comfort
You have crossed the line, and I feel uncomfortable.

Too close for comfort
You have invaded my personal space, and I need you to back off.

And on line
In contrast to the earlier lines of the song.

The acrobat
A metaphor for life's challenges and balancing act.