Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York) is an … Read Full Bio ↴Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. After rising to fame at the helm of the popular folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant enjoyed even greater success as a solo artist during the mid-'90s. Her literate, socially conscious songs established her among the preeminent women in pop music, while her solo debut -- 1995's Tigerlily -- helped pave the way for a number of female performers in a pre-Lilith Fair market. She continued releasing albums well into the 2000s, often examining specific genres or subjects, although Tigerlily remained her biggest-selling record.
In My Tribe. Merchant joined 10,000 Maniacs at the age of 17 and became the band's driving artistic force. After a pair of successful independent releases, they signed to Elektra in 1985 and briefly became one of the most popular acts in alternative rock, shooting into the Top 40 with 1987's In My Tribe and charting even higher with their follow-up effort, Blind Man's Zoo. Merchant's desire to launch a solo career increased alongside the band's growing reputation, however, and by the time the group sat down to record 1992's Our Time in Eden, she gave her bandmates two years' notice. Following the release of MTV Unplugged in 1994, she publicly announced she was leaving the group's ranks.
OpheliaMerchant made her solo debut with 1995's Tigerlily, a self-produced album that debuted at number 13 and scored a Top Ten single with "Carnival." Two additional singles, "Wonder" and "Jealousy," also cracked the Top 40, prompting Tigerlily to sell over five million copies in the U.S. alone. It was followed in 1998 by Ophelia, another platinum-selling effort that was supported by Merchant's inclusion in the second Lilith Fair tour. Live in Concert, recorded at New York's Neil Simon Theatre, appeared a year later. A prominent social activist, Merchant also drew notice by campaigning in the name of such hot-button issues as animal rights, domestic violence, and homelessness.
MotherlandMerchant launched a folk tour in 2000, with members of progressive folk band the Horse Flies joining her on the road. She then returned to her solo career with Motherland. Two years later, Merchant left Elektra's roster and formed her own independent label, Myth America, in order to issue House Carpenter's Daughter, a collection of traditional and contemporary folk music inspired by the 2000 tour. A long period of silence followed, during which a pair of greatest-hits releases -- the 10,000 Maniacs collection Campfire Songs and Merchant's own Retrospective: 1995-2005 -- kept fans relatively sated. As the decade drew to a close, though, Merchant signed with Nonesuch Records and began making plans for a new album, which eventually arrived in the form of the ambitious, double-disc neo-children's album, 2010's Leave Your Sleep. Merchant returned to straight-ahead pop music with a self-titled album in May 2014.

But Not For Me
Natalie Merchant Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

They're writing songs of love
But not for me.
A lucky star's above
But not for me.

With love to lead the way
I've found more skies of gray
Than any Russian play

Could guarantee.

I was a fool to fall
And get that way
High ho alas and
Also lackaday.

Although I can't dismiss
The memory of his kiss
I guess he's not for me.

I know that love's a game
I'm puzzled all the same
Was I the moth or flame
I'm all at sea.

It all began so well
But what an end.
This time a gal could sure
Use a friend

When every happy plot

Ends in a marriage knot
And there's no knot for me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Natalie Merchant's But Not For Me express a profound sense of loneliness and unrequited love. The song describes the writer's feelings of exclusion and estrangement from the joy of love, represented by the fact that others are writing songs about it, but not for her. While others have a lucky star above, the writer feels lost and alone, unable to find happiness in the same way.

The writer's disillusionment with love is evident in the line, "With love to lead the way, I've found more skies of gray than any Russian play could guarantee." The reference to Russian plays suggests a sense of fatalism and hopelessness, indicating that the writer has lost faith in the idea of romantic love altogether. The phrase "High ho alas and also lackaday" further emphasizes the writer's melancholy and resignation.

The song's message is particularly poignant because it conveys a sense of universality - that many people have experienced the same sense of isolation and disappointment in love. The final lines of the song, "When every happy plot ends in a marriage knot and there's no knot for me," encapsulate this sense of isolation perfectly. The writer feels excluded from the happiness that others seem to find so easily.

Line by Line Meaning

They're writing songs of love
Others are creating romantic music

But not for me.
However, their songs don't relate to my situation

A lucky star's above
Fortune seems to be smiling upon others

But not for me.
But I haven't received any luck

With love to lead the way
Despite being in love

I've found more skies of gray
My life is full of difficulties and sorrows

Than any Russian play
Even Russian tragedies can't compare

Could guarantee.
They don't offer a solution or provide consolation

I was a fool to fall
I made a mistake falling in love

And get that way
Letting myself become vulnerable and emotional

High ho alas and
Expressing disappointment and regret