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."
Forever and a Day
Stephin Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll dream our lives away,
Our love is here to stay,
Marry me.
I'll give you every color of the rainbow;
They'll say it can't be done, but what do they know?
You'll never be alone,
You're my sine qua non,
Marry me.
I'll gaze into your eyes and say I love you.
There'll always be a rainbow right above you.
Forever and a day,
We'll watch our children play,
I know it's a cliché,
But I will love you come what may,
Forever and a day.
Forever and a day,
We'll dream our lives away.
I know it's a cliché,
But I will love you come what may,
Forever and a day.
The song "Forever and a Day" by Stephin Merritt is a romantic ballad that expresses the depth and eternity of the singer's love for his significant other. The lyrics refer to their lifelong commitment to each other and the various ways in which they will share their lives together, from dreaming to watching their children grow up. The central line of the song is "marry me," which suggests a desire for permanence and commitment that lasts beyond the traditional "till death do us part" vow.
The lyrics of the song are filled with a sense of optimism and hope. Merritt offers to give his partner every color of the rainbow, a symbolic gesture that suggests he will provide her with everything that she desires, and describes her as his "sine qua non," an essential part of his life. In doing so, he reinforces the idea that their love is unbreakable and will last forever.
Despite its somewhat clichéd themes, the song is an example of Merritt's masterful songwriting. The lyrics are simple but effective, and the melody and arrangement create a mood that perfectly complements the message. The songwriting is also notable for its use of visual imagery, such as the rainbow that is always present above the singer's partner, and for its playful use of language, such as the pun on the word "baritone."
Line by Line Meaning
Forever and a day,
Our love will last longer than we can ever imagine.
We'll dream our lives away,
We will spend our lives together, enjoying every moment.
Our love is here to stay,
Our love is everlasting, and we will always be together.
Marry me.
Let's make this eternal love official and get married.
I'll give you every color of the rainbow;
I'll give you everything, everything that I have.
They'll say it can't be done, but what do they know?
People may doubt us, but we both know that our love is real.
You'll never be alone,
I'll always be there for you to support you, no matter what.
You're my sine qua non,
You're my everything, my reason for being.
And I'm a baritone,
Although I may not have everything, I have enough to give you all you need.
Marry me.
Let's make this eternal love official and get married.
I'll gaze into your eyes and say I love you.
I'll look at you with all the love and affection I have and tell you I love you.
There'll always be a rainbow right above you.
There will always be happiness and good fortune with you.
Forever and a day,
Our love will last longer than we can ever imagine.
We'll watch our children play,
We will build a family together and see our children grow and play.
I know it's a cliché,
Our love may seem like a cliché, but it's real and true.
But I will love you come what may,
No matter what happens, I'll always love you.
Forever and a day.
Our love will last longer than we can ever imagine.
Contributed by Ethan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.