He briefly used the name The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra as an attribution for a song written for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, entitled "Scream and Run Away". Further music was recorded for the audiobook versions of the series and is attributed to The Gothic Archies.
Under his own name, he recorded and released the soundtracks to the films Eban and Charley and Pieces of April. The soundtrack to the late Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete featured many of his songs.
He and director Chen Shi-Zheng have collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre; Orphan of Zhao (2003), Peach Blossom Fan (2004), and My Life as a Fairy Tale (2005). Select tracks from these works have been released on Nonesuch Records under the title Showtunes.
Merritt is openly gay. His lyrics are known for bending and blurring the gender line; examples include the song When My Boy Walks Down The Street, sung by a male vocalist, which contains the lyric "and he's going to be my wife". He is fascinated with the undead, often making veiled or explicit references to vampires. Other frequent motifs in his lyrics include trains and railroads, the moon, dancing, eyes, and, of course, love.
Merritt has a Chihuahua named Irving, after Irving Berlin. He was raised Buddhist by his counter-culture mother. He attended the progressive Massachusetts high school, The Cambridge School of Weston and briefly attended NYU before moving back to Boston. He is a smoker, and is known to light a cigarette while performing on stage. He has worked as a copy editor for Spin Magazine and Time Out New York.
One of Merritt's most notable quirks is that, when interrupting his speech for thought, he does not use linguistic placeholders such as "uh" or "er" to indicate that he is not done speaking, but instead simply stops speaking. This leads many interviewers unfamiliar with this behavior to cut him off before he has finished answering a question.
In a September 2005 interview conducted by The Onion's AV Club, alternative rock musician Bob Mould was reminded of an interviewer who once referred to Mould as "the most depressed man in rock." Mould's response was, "He's never met Stephin Merritt, obviously."
Fan Dance Cha-Cha
Stephin Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't no crime to do the cha-cha-cha
And if I'm to do the cha-cha-cha
I may cha-cha-cha without warning
Close your lips and do the cha-cha-cha
Shake your hips and do the cha-cha-cha
Do some flips and do the cha-cha-cha
We can cha-cha-cha till the morning
If you ever do the cha-cha-cha
You'll forever do the cha-cha-cha
If you never do the cha-cha-cha
You'll have lived without really dancing
It may be you do the cha-cha-cha
Like to see you do the cha-cha-cha
Stick with me and do the cha-cha-cha
It's the only thing for romancing
It's the only thing for romancing
The lyrics of Stephin Merritt's "Fan Dance Cha-Cha" are a playful encouragement towards dancing. The song begins by stating that it is never too late to engage in the cha-cha-cha, and that there is no shame in doing it. The singer seems to be urging his listener to get up and move, promising that it's worth it. As he repeats that they can cha-cha-cha until the morning, it becomes clear that this is a song about indulging in the joy of dancing for longer than is perhaps sensible.
In the second half of the song, the tune becomes more insistent, with the singer insisting that once you start cha-cha-chaing, you will continue to do so for the rest of your life. He suggests that the cha-cha-cha is a key ingredient of romance, urging his listener to dance with him. Ultimately, the song is a simple, catchy celebration of the joy of moving and the ability of dance to bring people together.
Line by Line Meaning
When it's time to do the cha-cha-cha
When the opportunity presents itself to dance the cha-cha-cha
Ain't no crime to do the cha-cha-cha
There's no harm in dancing the cha-cha-cha
And if I'm to do the cha-cha-cha
If I decide to dance the cha-cha-cha
I may cha-cha-cha without warning
I might start dancing the cha-cha-cha unexpectedly
Close your lips and do the cha-cha-cha
Focus on the dance and move your body to the rhythm
Shake your hips and do the cha-cha-cha
Incorporate hip movements into your cha-cha-cha steps
Do some flips and do the cha-cha-cha
Add some showy and impressive moves to your cha-cha-cha
We can cha-cha-cha till the morning
We can dance the cha-cha-cha all night long
If you ever do the cha-cha-cha
If you ever experience dancing the cha-cha-cha
You'll forever do the cha-cha-cha
You'll always remember and be willing to dance the cha-cha-cha
If you never do the cha-cha-cha
If you never experience dancing the cha-cha-cha
You'll have lived without really dancing
You'll have missed out on a true dancing experience
It may be you do the cha-cha-cha
Perhaps you'll give the cha-cha-cha a try
Like to see you do the cha-cha-cha
I would enjoy watching you dance the cha-cha-cha
Stick with me and do the cha-cha-cha
Stay with me and let's dance the cha-cha-cha together
It's the only thing for romancing
Dancing the cha-cha-cha is the perfect activity for romantic partners
Contributed by John H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.