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."
Hail! Son of Heaven
Stephin Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Long life! a thousand more!
Always to be victorious
Every battle, every war!
Hail, hail the all-beneficient!
Play drums and trumpets loud!
Sing, sing, you are an instrument
Play, play the never-ending song
Loud, loud for all to hear!
Bow lowers as we march along
Throw hats aloft and cheer!
Hail, son of heaven glorious!
Long life! a thousand more!
Always to be victorious
Every battle, every war!
Always to be victorious
Every battle, every war!
The song "Hail! Son of Heaven" by Stephin Merritt is an anthem-like song that praises an all-powerful figure known as the "son of heaven". The song begins with a call to hail this figure, who is referred to as "glorious" and is wished "long life" for a thousand more years. The "son of heaven" is described as being always victorious in every battle and war he fights. The song calls him "all-beneficent", suggesting that he is a powerful and good figure. The song calls for drums and trumpets to be played loudly and for everyone to raise their voices in singing.
The second verse of the song continues this theme of praising the "son of heaven", calling for a never-ending song to be played, which is so loud that all can hear it. The song calls for the crowd to raise their voices and sing as an instrument in praise of this great figure. The final verse repeats the opening lines, calling again for everyone to hail the "son of heaven", who is praised for his victories in every battle and war.
Overall, the song "Hail! Son of Heaven" is a tribute to a powerful and victorious figure, who is praised as a great conqueror and benefactor.
Line by Line Meaning
Hail, son of heaven glorious!
Let us celebrate and honor the great king, who is believed to be chosen by God himself and is therefore like a heavenly son.
Long life! a thousand more!
We wish for the king to live for eternity and continue to reign for thousands of years to come.
Always to be victorious, Every battle, every war!
May the king always emerge as the winner in every battle and war, making his kingdom prosperous and unstoppable.
Hail, hail the all-beneficient!
We praise the king for being a kind, generous and compassionate ruler, always looking out for the well-being of his people.
Play drums and trumpets loud!
Let us make joyful noise and music to pay tribute to the king's greatness and power.
Sing, sing, you are an instrument, Raise your voice among the crowd
Every citizen is a part of this grand celebration, so raise your voice and sing in honor of the king, for we are all instruments in his grand orchestra.
Play, play the never-ending song, Loud, loud for all to hear!
The music and celebration will continue endlessly, symbolizing the never-ending reign and prosperity of the kingdom under the king's leadership.
Bow lowers as we march along, Throw hats aloft and cheer!
We show our respect and submission to the king by bowing our heads as we march in his honor, then we throw our hats up in the air and cheer to show our excitement and pride.
Always to be victorious, Every battle, every war!
May the king's power and prosperity continue for eternity, and may he never face defeat or failure in any battle or war.
Contributed by Kaitlyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.