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.
I May Know the Word
Natalie Merchant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But not say it
I may know the truth
But not face it
I may hear a sound
A whisper sacred and profound
But turn my head
Indifferent
I may know the word
But not say it
I may love the fruit
But not taste it
I may know the way
To comfort and to soothe
A worried face
But fold my hands
Indifferent
If I'm on my knees
I'm begging now
If I'm on my knees
Groping in the dark
I'd be paying for deliverance
From the night into day
But it's all grey here
It's all grey to me
I may know the word
But not say it
This may be the time
But I might waste it
This may be the hour
Something move me
Someone prove me wrong
Before the night comes
With indifference
If I'm on my knees
I'm begging now
If I'm on my knees
Groping in the dark
I'd be praying for deliverance
From the night into the day
But it's all grey here
But it's all grey to me
I recognize the walls inside me
I recognize them all
I've paced between them
Chasing demons down
Until they fall
In fitful sleep
Enough to keep their strength
Enough to crawl
Into my head
With tangled threads
They riddle me to solve
Again and again and again
With "I May Know the Word," Natalie Merchant seems to be grappling with a sense of apathy or indifference towards the world around her. She acknowledges her knowledge of important concepts or truths, but struggles with whether or not she has the desire or ability to engage with them. This is illustrated through the repetition of the line "I may know the word, but not say it." It seems as though she is aware of what is necessary for personal growth or social change, but is too hesitant or afraid to act on it.
In the second verse, Merchant again acknowledges her own passivity by stating, "I may love the fruit, but not taste it." She recognizes that she is capable of appreciating something, but not fully immersing herself in it. This is further emphasized with the line, "But fold my hands indifferent." The chorus sees Merchant begging for a way out of her state of indifference, praying for deliverance from darkness into light. However, she laments that "it's all grey here," suggesting that she feels stuck in this state of apathy.
The third verse sees Merchant pleading for something or someone to motivate her to action before it's too late. The repeated use of the word "indifference" emphasizes the sense of detachedness and inaction that she so desperately wants to break free from. In the final line, "Again and again and again," the cyclical nature of her struggle is brought to the forefront. It is clear that this is not something she can simply overcome with one burst of inspiration or passion, but will have to continue grappling with in the future.
Line by Line Meaning
I may know the word
Even though I know what to do, I might not do it
But not say it
I might not take action despite knowing what to do
I may know the truth
I might be aware of the reality of the situation
But not face it
I might avoid confronting the truth
I may hear a sound
I might hear a sacred message
A whisper sacred and profound
The message I hear is deep and spiritual
But turn my head
I might ignore the message
Indifferent
I might not care about the message
I may love the fruit
I might deeply desire something
But not taste it
I might not take action to obtain what I desire
I may know the way
I might be familiar with a solution
To comfort and to soothe
I know how to make someone feel better
A worried face
Someone who is anxious
But fold my hands
I might not help despite having the solution
If I'm on my knees
If I'm desperate
I'm begging now
I'm asking for help
Groping in the dark
I'm struggling blindly
I'd be paying for deliverance
I'd be willing to do anything for help
From the night into day
To move from darkness to light
But it's all grey here
The situation is unclear
It's all grey to me
I'm uncertain about everything
This may be the time
This could be the opportune moment
But I might waste it
But I could fail to take advantage of it
This may be the hour
This could be the critical moment
Something move me
I need some motivation or inspiration
Someone prove me wrong
I need someone to challenge my beliefs
Before the night comes
Before I fall deeper into despair
With indifference
Without a care or interest
I recognize the walls inside me
I acknowledge my internal barriers
I recognize them all
I know which obstacles I face
I've paced between them
I've struggled with them for a while
Chasing demons down
Trying to overcome my inner demons
Until they fall
Until I conquer them
In fitful sleep
Even in my dreams, I'm struggling
Enough to keep their strength
Enough to maintain their power over me
Enough to crawl
Enough to continue to affect me
Into my head
Into my thoughts
With tangled threads
Complicated and difficult to navigate
They riddle me to solve
They challenge me to find a solution
Again and again and again
Repeating endlessly
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: NATALIE A MERCHANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind