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".
Evenfall
Michael Penn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me start again from this moment on
We've been through this before
Every single time that I thought you had gone
Well I'm out of reserve
I'm out of my wherewithal,
But when the moment comes
When I've got nothing left
See what I know
I can't always believe
A poison kiss
Can taste like a reprieve
And once again, I'm caught up from the evenfall.
I know it's late
I'm never in this frame of mind any earlier
I can judge the hour by
How much of what I see
Is no more than a blur
Well I'm down on my knees
Looking for some kind of antidote
When that moment comes
I keep one thing in mind that keeps my head afloat
What I believe
Ain't always what I feel
Another chance can sting like naked steel
And once again I'm caught up from the evenfall
It's a mystery can't you see
Why you'd still be here with me
I don't need no guarantee
But don't even turn from me
Don't ever turn me away.
The lyrics to Michael Penn's song Evenfall suggest a sense of desperation and hopelessness in a romantic relationship. The singer seems to be pleading with their partner to start anew, wiping the slate clean from past mistakes and miscommunications. However, despite wanting a fresh start, the singer seems to be caught in a cyclical pattern of disappointment and frustration with their partner's ongoing presence in their life.
The lyrics use evocative imagery to convey the singer's emotional state. They feel as though they are out of their "reserve" and "wherewithal," with nothing left to give. They are looking for an "antidote" to the pain they are experiencing, but all they have is the knowledge that "what I believe / Ain't always what I feel." The singer seems to acknowledge the cyclical nature of their relationship, with "once again" being caught up from the evenfall. The evenfall metaphorically represents the end of the day, the twilight hours where everything seems uncertain and unclear.
Throughout the song, the singer is grappling with the mystery of why their partner is still with them, despite the difficulties they face. They don't need any guarantees, but they don't want to be turned away. Ultimately, the lyrics suggest a sense of resignation and acceptance, as the singer continues to be caught up in the evenfall of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
If you wipe the slate
If we can start anew
Let me start again from this moment on
I want to begin again with you and leave the past behind
We've been through this before
We've faced challenges in our relationship previously
Every single time that I thought you had gone
Each time I believed you were gone for good
Well I'm out of reserve
I'm depleted and worn out
I'm out of my wherewithal
I'm at a loss and have no more strength
But when the moment comes
When it's most difficult
When I've got nothing left
When I've reached my limits
I find I've got it all
I discover that I have everything I need to persist
See what I know
What I've learned
I can't always believe
I can't always trust or have faith in it
A poison kiss
Something sweet that ultimately harms me
Can taste like a reprieve
Can feel like a temporary relief
And once again, I'm caught up from the evenfall.
I find myself struggling again
I know it's late
I realize I've waited too long
I'm never in this frame of mind any earlier
I can only reach this perspective at this particular time
I can judge the hour by
I can measure the time by
How much of what I see
How much of my perception
Is no more than a blur
Is unclear or distorted
Well I'm down on my knees
I'm desperate and humbled
Looking for some kind of antidote
Searching for a cure or solution
When that moment comes
When things get too overwhelming
I keep one thing in mind that keeps my head afloat
I hold onto one thought or belief to keep myself going
What I believe
What I hold to be true
Ain't always what I feel
Doesn't always align with my emotions
Another chance can sting like naked steel
Another opportunity to try again can hurt like a sharp blade
And once again I'm caught up from the evenfall
Once more, I find myself struggling
It's a mystery can't you see
It's difficult to understand or explain
Why you'd still be here with me
Why you would choose to remain in this relationship with me
I don't need no guarantee
I don't require absolute certainty
But don't even turn from me
Please don't reject me
Don't ever turn me away
Never abandon me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind