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.

Owensboro
Natalie Merchant Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, I lived in a town
Way down south
By the name of Owensboro
And I worked in a mill
With the rest of the â??trashâ??
As we're often called
As you know

Well, we rise up early
In the morning
And we work all day real hard
To buy our little meat and bread
Buy sugar, tea, and lard

Well, our children they
Grow, grow up unlearned
With no time to go to school
Almost before they learn to walk
They learn to spin and to spool

Well, the folks in town
They dress so fine
And spend their money free
But they would hardly look
At a factory hand
That dresses like you or me

Would you let them wear
Their watches fine
Let them wear their gems
And pearly strings

But when that day
Of judgement comes

They'll have to share
Their pretty things

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Natalie Merchant's song Owensboro tell the story of a hardworking mill worker in Owensboro, a town located in the southern part of the United States. The singer describes their life, waking up early in the morning to work all day at the mill, earning just enough money to buy basic necessities like meat, bread, sugar, tea, and lard. However, their children do not have the privilege of attending school, as they are forced to work alongside their parents in the mill, learning to spin and spool before they even learn to walk.

The singer observes that the townspeople, despite their affluence and ostentatious display of wealth, would never give a factory hand like them a second glance. They are marginalized, referred to as "trash," left to toil without recognition, and unable to afford even the basics of life. However, the singer is steadfast in the belief that their hard work and integrity will one day count for something, and that those who look down on them will have to face judgment for their unfair treatment.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, I lived in a town
I resided in a town

Way down south
Very far in the southern region

By the name of Owensboro
The name of this town is Owensboro

And I worked in a mill
I was employed in a factory

With the rest of the â??trashâ??
Alongside the other factory workers who are belittled

As we're often called
How these factory workers are frequently referred to

As you know
You are familiar with this situation

Well, we rise up early
We wake up at the crack of dawn

In the morning
At the start of the day

And we work all day real hard
We put in a long, hard day's work

To buy our little meat and bread
To purchase a small amount of food