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".
Out of My Hands
Michael Penn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of the symptoms fit
And I backslide
An eye on the clock
I don't talk much
When I'm running
On the inside
When every conclusion reached
I put on my best face and my kid gloves, too
And held up the end
Until it's out of my hands
Out of my hands
And if you tuned in to see blood
It's not a subject that I surpass in
My mission's been scrubbed; my brains were washed
Because I never was your assassin
It's like a desert
Sand will have to do
And between my fingers
Saw it running through
Until it turned into this
And out of my hands
Out of my hands
Out of my hands
So come up and check
There's nothing up my sleeve
All the while
It's getting harder for you to believe
Out of my hands
Out of my hands
Out of my hands
In Michael Penn's song Out Of My Hand, the singer describes feeling like they are coming down with something, with all the symptoms fitting. This feeling of unease manifests internally, making it difficult for the singer to communicate efficiently. They say they don't talk much when they're running on the inside. Every conclusion they come to seems to lead back to the person they are addressing. The singer may have been hurt by this person and has put on a front, attempting to appear unaffected by it. They have tried to be polite, held their end up until it is out of their hands. The singer has realized that they cannot control the situation any longer and must let it go. The person they are addressing may have believed that the conflict would escalate and become violent, but the singer asserts that they never intended to harm them. The songs end with the singer insisting that they have nothing up their sleeve and that the situation is indeed out of their hands.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel like I'm coming down with it
I sense that I'm getting affected by something (not specified).
All of the symptoms fit
The symptoms that I'm experiencing match the expected ones.
And I backslide
I slip back into my old habits or ways of thinking.
An eye on the clock
I keep track of the time carefully.
I don't talk much
I remain quiet.
When I'm running on the inside
When I'm experiencing strong emotions within myself.
When every conclusion reached is out to you
Whenever any conclusion that I arrive at is directed towards you specifically.
I put on my best face and my kid gloves, too
I try to maintain a positive front and be gentle with you.
And held up the end
I did what I had to do to ensure things reached the desired end.
Until it's out of my hands
Until the situation is beyond my control.
And if you tuned in to see blood
If you were expecting or hoping for drama, fighting, or intense conflict.
It's not a subject that I surpass in
I don't excel in that particular area.
My mission's been scrubbed; my brains were washed
My goals have been revised, and my thought processes have been altered.
Because I never was your assassin
Because I never intended to harm you or be your enemy.
It's like a desert; sand will have to do
The situation is barren and difficult to work with, but I must make do with what I have.
And between my fingers, saw it running through
I watched helplessly as the situation slipped away from my control.
Until it turned into this
Until it became the current state that I'm dealing with.
So come up and check, there's nothing up my sleeve
Feel free to investigate, but you won't find anything hidden or concealed.
All the while, it's getting harder for you to believe
Meanwhile, it's becoming increasingly difficult for you to trust or have faith in me.
Out of my hands
I no longer have any control over the situation.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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