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."
Has the World Gone Insane?
Stephin Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything in its place
Down to the pot one pees in
And yet here am I, the great soldier
A cat among mice
Me, guarding this babe
Like a storm guarding one grain of rice!
The enemy baby, with enemy milk on his chin
But to keep baby in!
In these lyrics of Stephin Merritt's song "Has the World Gone Insane?" the singer speaks of a situation where everything seems to be in its rightful place; the wind and rain are perfectly in season, things are organized down to the pot one pees in, and everything seems predictable. However, despite the predictability of his surroundings, the singer finds himself in the middle of an unpredictable and potentially dangerous situation. He portrays himself as a great soldier in a world of mice, guarding over a baby who he labels as the 'enemy baby' with enemy milk on his chin. The singer explains that he is not guarding to keep people out but rather to keep the baby in.
These lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but one possible interpretation is that they represent the strange and unpredictable nature of our world. Despite the order and predictability of our lives, unexpected and chaotic events can occur, forcing us into roles that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable. In this context, the singer's role as a protector of a baby can be seen as a metaphor for our basic instinct to protect and care for those who need it most, even if it means putting ourselves in danger.
Line by Line Meaning
Wind and rain... perfectly in season
The weather is fitting for its time, everything seems to be going as expected.
Everything in its place
Everything is organized and arranged in its proper location.
Down to the pot one pees in
Even the smallest details have been taken care of and organized.
And yet here am I, the great soldier
Despite the small and seemingly insignificant task, the artist takes pride in their duty.
A cat among mice
The artist may feel superior to those around them or like an outsider among their peers.
Me, guarding this babe
The singer has been tasked with the responsibility of protecting a baby.
Like a storm guarding one grain of rice!
The singer takes their job very seriously and is determined to protect the baby with all of their might.
The enemy baby, with enemy milk on his chin
The baby may be viewed as the enemy because of how much work it takes to care and provide for it.
I guard, not to keep people out
The artist's intention is not to prevent others from coming near the baby.
But to keep baby in!
The artist's goal is to keep the baby from harm and provide a safe environment for them to grow and thrive.
Contributed by Carson J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.