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".
Figment
Michael Penn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leave it for a while; come back
Leave it for a while; come back
What would make a smile on you?
Are you closing in? Come back
Are you still believing what you read?
Are you still believing every word?
But before the day is done
You will notice one
Is caught inside a web somebody spun
In your imagination
Treaded water 'til I made you cry
But I loved you more
Than I will now recall at all
I was born to call that bluff
And isn't history
Just a bargain and a plea
That we'd all know what to break
And what to rise above
Do you think that love
Is a figment of your imagination?
Leave it for a while; come back
Leave it for a while; come back
Leave it for a while; come back
What would make a smile on you?
Are you closing in?
Are you now receiving what you need?
Go find your magician now
I'm an apparition
Under some suspicion
So I flew
And the sky's so blue
For a coup d'etat in your imagination...
The song Figment by Michael Penn is a contemplative and introspective tune that muses on the ways in which humans create their own realities. The repetitive phrase "Leave it for a while; come back" can be interpreted as a suggestion to step back and take a break from the stresses of life, allowing for some perspective and clarity. The following line "What would make a smile on you?" implies a search for happiness and a reminder that our own happiness is ultimately in our control.
The song then moves on to examine the idea of belief, asking "Are you still believing what you read?" and "Are you still believing every word?" The use of the phrase "caught inside a web somebody spun" suggests that we can easily be led astray or become trapped in someone else's narrative. The lyric "Do you think that love is a figment of your imagination?" further explores this idea of our beliefs shaping our reality. The line "I'm an apparition under some suspicion" can also be seen as a reference to the idea that we are all just ghosts in the machine of our own lives, with our perceptions shaping what we experience.
Ultimately, the song seems to be urging the listener to take control of their own perceptions and beliefs, and to find their own happiness and sense of purpose. The phrase "coup d'etat in your imagination" suggests that we have the power to overthrow our own negative beliefs and create a new, more positive reality for ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Leave it for a while; come back
Take a break from your current situation and come back to it later
Leave it for a while; come back
Sometimes we need time away from our concerns to gain perspective
Leave it for a while; come back
Stepping away can help us approach a problem with more clarity
What would make a smile on you?
What brings you joy and happiness?
Are you closing in? Come back
Are you becoming too emotionally invested? Take a step back
Are you still believing what you read?
Don't believe everything you hear or read
Are you still believing every word?
Be cautious of people who make promises they can't keep
(That is what I heard)
Gossip can be unreliable and cause misunderstandings
But before the day is done
Time is fleeting and should be used wisely
You will notice one
Pay attention to the people around you
Is caught inside a web somebody spun
Beware of manipulative people who try to deceive you
In your imagination
Sometimes we create scenarios in our minds that are not based in reality
Treaded water 'til I made you cry
I struggled to keep my head above water until I emotionally hurt someone
But I loved you more
My love for you was genuine
Than I will now recall at all
I may have forgotten how deeply I loved you
I was born to call that bluff
I am naturally inclined to expose lies and deception
And isn't history
The past
Just a bargain and a plea
Our past actions are often an attempt to negotiate our desires and needs
That we'd all know what to break
We learn from our past mistakes so that we can avoid them in the future
And what to rise above
We also learn from our successes and strive to achieve them again
Do you think that love
Do you believe in love?
Is a figment of your imagination?
Is love just a fantasy, or is it something real and tangible?
Are you now receiving what you need?
Are you getting what you desire and require from life?
Go find your magician now
Find what makes you happy and fulfilled
I'm an apparition
I am a fleeting presence in your life
Under some suspicion
You may not fully trust me
So I flew
I left because I felt unwelcome or uncomfortable
And the sky's so blue
The world is still beautiful and full of possibilities despite my departure
For a coup d'etat in your imagination...
I will always live on in your memories and thoughts
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind