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".

Innocent One
Michael Penn Lyrics

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Sweet Miranda brings me the wine
We have had our fill
Of almost everything
Turning thistledown laughter
I would take her blue cue too late
I would say the words
Almost anything
Just to catch what she's after

But you don't believe that I'm
A partner in this game
How can you believe that I'm the innocent one
When the bow broke in pieces we fell
We would scream and shout
Almost anything
But the point is we fell dear
There will be no more wishlessness
There may be some doubt
No new day without
Best that we say farewell here
But you don't believe that I'm
A party to the pain
How can you believe that I'm the innocent one
I saw this girl crying
By the wheel of her car
She had balloons in the back seat
The front door ajar
She never moved so I just whispered goodbye
She reminded me of you when you cry
And I didn't mean to make you cry

Sweet Miranda brings me the wine
We have had our fill
Of almost everything
Turning thistledown laughter
I would take her blue cue too late
I would say the words
Almost anything
Just to catch what she's after
But you don't believe that I'm

A partner in this game
How can you believe that I'm the innocent one

Overall Meaning

The song "Innocent One" by Michael Penn seems to be about a complicated romantic relationship. The lyrics describe a scene where the singer and a woman named Miranda are together, drinking wine and enjoying life. However, the singer seems to be feeling guilty about something and worries that Miranda doesn't believe he's innocent. He admits that he would say "almost anything" just to catch her attention or win her favor, but he's not sure she trusts him.

The chorus of the song is the most poignant, with the singer questioning how he can be seen as "the innocent one" when things are falling apart. He describes screaming and shouting with Miranda, seemingly indicating that there was once a lot of passion in their relationship. However, he also acknowledges that it's time to say goodbye and move on, even though it's painful. The last verse adds another layer to the song, as the singer sees a girl crying by her car and is reminded of Miranda. He apologizes for making her cry and seems to be acknowledging that he's the one who caused the pain in their relationship.

Overall, "Innocent One" is a melancholy and reflective song that asks big questions about love and trust. The singer doesn't seem to have all the answers, but he's willing to admit his mistakes and try to move forward.

Line by Line Meaning

Sweet Miranda brings me the wine
Miranda brings me wine, which is a symbol of our satisfaction and leisure. It means we have everything we need to be content.

We have had our fill
We have experienced everything in life that we have wanted to experience, and now we're done.

Of almost everything
We have experienced everything in life that we have wanted to experience, except for very few things.

Turning thistledown laughter
Our laughter feels light and delicate, like the thistledown floating in the air.

I would take her blue cue too late
I would have followed her lead, but it's too late now. I missed my chance.

I would say the words Almost anything Just to catch what she's after
I would say anything to make her happy, even if it's not completely true. I just want to please her.

But you don't believe that I'm A partner in this game
You don't believe that I am fully invested in this relationship and that I am contributing as much as the other person.

How can you believe that I'm the innocent one
How can you believe that I'm completely innocent in this relationship and that the problems are all coming from the other person? It takes two to tango.

When the bow broke in pieces we fell
When the relationship finally broke down, we both suffered the consequences.

We would scream and shout Almost anything But the point is we fell dear
We argued about everything and anything, but the important thing is that we fell out of love and it's time to leave.

There will be no more wishlessness
There will be no more unfulfilled hopes and longings, because we have decided to end the relationship.

There may be some doubt No new day without Best that we say farewell here
There may be some uncertainty and sadness about the end of the relationship, but it's best if we say our goodbyes right now.

But you don't believe that I'm A party to the pain
You don't believe that I am partially responsible for the pain and suffering in the relationship, and that I have caused my fair share of the problems.

How can you believe that I'm the innocent one
How can you believe that I'm completely innocent in this relationship and that the problems are all coming from the other person? It takes two to tango.

I saw this girl crying By the wheel of her car She had balloons in the back seat The front door ajar
I saw a woman who reminded me of my partner, crying in her car with balloons in the back seat. She seemed to be going through a rough time.

She never moved so I just whispered goodbye
The woman didn't respond to me, so I just quietly said goodbye and walked away.

She reminded me of you when you cry And I didn't mean to make you cry
The woman reminded me of my partner when she cries, and I didn't want to make my partner cry.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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