McKay is hard to categorize. She’s done Brecht on Broadway, opened for Lou Reed at Carnegie Hall, sung Woody Allen movie songs at the Hollywood Bowl, performed on A Prairie Home Companion, duetted with Eartha Kitt and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, played Hilary Swank’s sister on the big screen, paid tribute to Doris Day, and released four wildly acclaimed albums of original music.
Her music is as tuneful and clever as the best of the Great American Songbook-part cabaret, part sparkly pop. But beneath the charming melodic surface is a wit that cuts, and a sharply tuned social conscience.
Home Sweet Mobile Home is McKay’s first album of all-original material since 2007′s Obligatory Villagers, and features the musical wanderlust, lyrical playfulness and unique point of view that has characterized her music since her breakthrough debut Get Away From Me. Songs from the new project were recently debuted at her NYC engagement at Feinstein’s, and The New York Post noted that “songs like ‘Bodega’ and ‘Caribbean Time’… feature a blend of whimsical humor and social commentary that blended in beautifully alongside the Doris Day standards from the Blueberry Pie album.”
The album, produced by McKay and Robin Pappas, was recorded in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New York, Jamaica, the Pocono Mountains, and even more than her previous albums, combines diverse musical moods and cultures. Reviewing a recent McKay show, Stephen Holden from The New York Times described her as a “vocal chameleon,” and that varied musical palette is used to great effect on the 13 songs of Home Sweet Mobile Home.
Nellie began playing her own songs (and lovingly chosen covers) in clubs in downtown New York City in 2003, soon catching the attention of music writers and a number of record labels – this gal was a gifted entertainer, an impressive musician, with songs unlike anything people were hearing around town.
Her first album was produced by Geoff Emerick, the man who had engineered The Beatles’ albums from Revolver through Abbey Road. McKay signed on as co-producer.
She and Emerick recorded eighteen songs (including such live McKay favorites as “David,” “The Dog Song” and “I Wanna Get Married,” and that double-CD Get Away From Me was let loose upon the world. The project was greeted with critical raves and placement on many Top 10 lists.
The Washington Post wrote, “McKay’s music evokes the lost elegance of pre-Elvis pop music because she recognizes that such stylishness and wit are worth pursuing. But those goals inevitably collide with the realities of money, sex and politics, and she documents those collisions in her tongue-in-cheek lyrics, emphatic beats and bubbly melodies.”
Following the splash of Get Away From Me, Nellie recorded Pretty Little Head, of which the Los Angeles Times said, “McKay comes on as a Harlem Holly Golightly, a social activist with a disarming mastery of pop vernacular.” Spin noted, “that she succeeds on a record as sophisticated as the self-produced Pretty Little Head is not only a testament to McKay’s talent, it’s also a tribute to her artistic sense.”
In 2007, she recorded Obligatory Villagers, described by Spin as “a brisk nine-song set that plays like the breathless first act of a stage musical decrying American fascism.” Recently, the Chase Brock Experience premiered a ballet, Whoa, Nellie!, based on the entire album.
Meanwhile, Broadway and Hollywood beckoned. McKay appeared on Broadway (winning a Theatre World Award for her Polly in a revival of The Threepenny Opera) and on film (acting and singing in P.S. I Love You). She also wrote and performed the song score for the Rob Reiner film Rumor Has It. In addition, her writing has appeared in The Onion, Interview magazine, and The New York Times Book Review, where she delivered an incisive and knowledgeable review of a Doris Day biography.
“What she possessed,” McKay wrote, “beyond her beauty, physical grace, and natural acting ability, was a resplendent voice that conveyed enormous warmth and feeling.”
It seemed inevitable that Nellie should record an album of songs associated with Ms. Day, and she was given the opportunity to do so when approached by Verve Records. The result features 12 songs handpicked from over 600 recordings by Ms. Day, with an original by McKay. Hailed as “among the killer overhauls of American standards” (The New York Times), Normal As Blueberry Pie covers the scope of Day’s music from the big bands through the McCarthy era. The album wound up on a variety of Top 10 lists of 2009′s best albums, including The New York Times and The Village Voice.
McKay completed filming her first starring role, opposite violin prodigy Philippe Quint, in the independent film Downtown Express; recorded (along with Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks) for the soundtrack of the upcoming Martin Scorsese HBO series Boardwalk Empire; and contributed two songs to the award-winning documentary Gasland. She is currently participating in Dear New Orleans, a benefit album to aid the ravaged city, along with such artists as Jill Sobule, My Morning Jacket, and OK GO.
Home Sweet Mobile Home arrives three years after her last self-composed album, and as ever her songs are a study in contrasts: some of the moods are dark (“we’re marching through the madness / with not a soul about to see / we’re moving through the fortress / chasin’ the ghost of anarchy” and “there’s no equality here / there’s no equality anywhere / & every fear you can face / is quickly replaced by one you can’t lose”), but there is also joy and gentleness. Sometimes all at once. Her gift is in mingling the pure pleasure of all kinds and all eras of pop music, twisting the dials, writing upbeat melodies with subversive undercurrents.
As critic Robert Christgau wrote, Nellie McKay is “ebullient, funny and political. Her future looks brave and free to me.”
Official artist website www.nelliemckay.com
Change the World
Nellie McKay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am bored
To my pictures I implore
Should I go or stay
What should I be today
Make a leap
Go to sleep
Where should I go from here
Am I hetero or queer
Oh, self discovery
What joy it is
I need recovery
Caffeinated fizz
Should I run
Should I hide
Happy pill or suicide
Contribute or refute
Have a kid
Then call it cute
Oh, self-esteeming, in suburbia
My shelf is teeming
A pet named Chia
Oh, oh, oh what should I say
What should I pray
Who would care if I went ahead
And punched the wall
Oh, oh, oh what do I care
What should I wear
What does it matter
If I change the world at all
I listen to some rap
I give myself a slap
Come on use the pain
Drink up from the rain
Just arise unsupervised
Healthy wealthy you know wise
Dance around
Make a sound
Let yourself become unwound
God, I'm so German
Have to have a plan
Please Ethel Merman help me out this jam
Ding a ling
Ring a ding
Anything just do something
Feelin' dense
On the fence
Civil disobedience
Come on now's the hour
Go and deviate
Can't you feel the power
Hope you appreciate
Oh, oh, oh what should I say
What should I pray
Who would care if I went ahead
And punched the wall
Oh, oh, oh what do I care
What should I wear
What does it matter
If I change the world at all
OK Dr. Phil
Ready for my pill
Flex my psychic muscle
Guess we'd better hustle
People are dying now
Do something you ugly cow
Sorry for myself again
Me, my wallet and my men
Jesus I love you
Frank I love you, too
Hit the road together
Get out of the zoo
No exit
Just a pit
Apocalyptic and a zit
Hurry now
Pack your bags
Adieu you mall scallawags
Got my sneakers velcroed
Snap my bookbag on
Goodbye little zipcode
How can I go wrong
Oh, oh, oh what should I say
What should I pray
Who would care if I went ahead
And punched the wall
Oh, oh, oh what do I care
What should I wear
What does it matter
If I change the world at all
What does it matter
If I change the world at all
What does it matter
If I change the world at all
The song "Change The World" by Nellie McKay reflects the sense of confusion and apathy that many people experience in their lives. The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics, as the singer wakes up feeling bored and unsure about what she should do with her day. She goes on to contemplate her identity, wondering if she is straight or queer, and her purpose in life, questioning whether she should contribute or refute and whether having a child is worth anything. The chorus of the song repeats the question "What does it matter if I change the world at all?" indicating a sense of futility and questioning the value of personal action.
Throughout the song, Nellie McKay offers a mix of self-deprecating humor and a call to action. She urges the listener to "drink up from the rain," "dance around," and "deviate" from the status quo. She also references other artists and icons such as Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra as sources of inspiration. Despite the overall cynical tone of the song, there are moments of hopefulness, such as when the singer implores herself to make a sound and become "unwound."
Line by Line Meaning
I wake up
Every morning, I start a new day
I am bored
I feel uninterested and without anything to do
To my pictures I implore
I look to my surroundings and ask for guidance
Should I go or stay
I am undecided about my next move
What should I be today
I contemplate my identity and how it relates to the current day
Make a leap
Take a risk and do something out of the ordinary
Go to sleep
Rest and recharge the mind and body
Should I cry or should I weep
I am unsure whether to show my emotions or keep them bottled up
Where should I go from here
I am uncertain of my path forward
Am I hetero or queer
I question my sexual preference
Oh, self discovery
The process of exploring and defining oneself
What joy it is
An expression of excitement and fulfillment about self-discovery
I need recovery
I require time and effort to heal from past experiences or events
Caffeinated fizz
A carbonated beverage containing caffeine
Should I run
Consider the possibility of fleeing from a situation
Should I hide
Consider the possibility of concealing oneself from others or from a situation
Happy pill or suicide
A decision between taking medication to improve one's mood or ending one's life
Contribute or refute
The options of either making a positive impact or challenging something
Have a kid
Consider the possibility of having a child
Then call it cute
A statement of what one would do after having a child
Oh, self-esteeming, in suburbia
Feeling confident in oneself while living in a suburban area
My shelf is teeming
My possessions are abundant and overfilling my shelves
A pet named Chia
A domesticated animal given a particular name
Oh, oh, oh what should I say
A moment of indecision when deciding what to say or express
What should I pray
Deciding what to ask for during prayer or not knowing if one should pray at all
Who would care if I went ahead
Feeling insignificant and unnoticed
And punched the wall
An expression of frustration and anger
What do I care
Questioning personal investment in something
What should I wear
Deciding what clothing to wear
What does it matter
Questioning the importance of something
I listen to some rap
A description of what kind of music is playing
I give myself a slap
Physically punishing oneself out of frustration
Come on use the pain
A call to make positive use of one's painful experiences
Drink up from the rain
Take advantage of the positive aspects of a negative experience
Just arise unsupervised
Taking action without needing approval or direction from others
Healthy wealthy you know wise
Healthy and wealthy people are often viewed as wise
Dance around
Move in a joyful and carefree manner
Make a sound
Speak up and have a voice
Let yourself become unwound
Relax and let go of stress
God, I'm so German
An expression of being organized and efficient
Have to have a plan
The belief that having a plan is necessary
Please Ethel Merman help me out this jam
A reference to Ethel Merman, a Broadway star, to express a need for help
Ding a ling
The sound of a bell ringing
Ring a ding
An imitation of the sound of a bell ringing
Anything just do something
A call for action, regardless of what it is
Feelin' dense
Feeling uncertain or confused
On the fence
Being indecisive about a particular topic or situation
Civil disobedience
An act of intentionally breaking the law in defense of a cause
Come on now's the hour
The present moment is the best time for action
Go and deviate
Step out of the norm and do something different
Can't you feel the power
A call to recognize one's own strength and capability
Hope you appreciate
I hope you understand the importance of this message
OK Dr. Phil
Referencing the television personality as a thought leader or expert
Ready for my pill
Prepared to take medicine for mental health issues
Flex my psychic muscle
A metaphor for using one's mind to solve problems
Guess we'd better hustle
It's time to get moving and take action
People are dying now
A harsh reality check and expression of urgency
Do something you ugly cow
An insult used to motivate oneself to take action
Sorry for myself again
Feeling bad for oneself or dwelling on negative experiences
Me, my wallet and my men
A reference to male companions or associates, and one's own financial status
Jesus I love you
A statement of faith and love for Jesus Christ
Frank I love you, too
An expression of love for someone named Frank
Hit the road together
Traveling with others
Get out of the zoo
Leave a chaotic or stressful environment
No exit
No way out of the current situation
Just a pit
A negative situation, possibly with no end in sight
Apocalyptic and a zit
A comparison to the apocalypse and a pimple, both representing chaos or disorder
Hurry now
An expression of urgency to take action quickly
Pack your bags
Get ready to leave a place or situation
Adieu you mall scallawags
A farewell to those perceived as juvenile or annoying
Got my sneakers velcroed
Footwear that is easy to put on or take off
Snap my bookbag on
Preparing to carry a bag full of belongings
Goodbye little zipcode
Saying farewell to a particular area or district
How can I go wrong
Feeling confident about the path forward
What does it matter
Questioning the importance of making a significant impact on the world
If I change the world at all
Whether or not one will make a lasting difference on the world
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Nellie McKay
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind