Stephin Merritt (born 1966 in New York City, United States) is a singer-son… Read Full Bio ↴Stephin Merritt (born 1966 in New York City, United States) is a singer-songwriter. He has created and played principal roles in the following bands: The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes.

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."

Some Summer Day
Stephin Merritt Lyrics

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Some summer day, we'll dance again
And, come what may, I love you
Goodbye, my friend, goodbye

Fly far away from vile abuse
Some summer day, I'll see you
Til then, refuse to sing

Overall Meaning

Stephin Merritt's song "Some Summer Day" is a beautiful and poignant tribute to the power of love in overcoming struggles and adversity. The opening lyric, "Some summer day, we'll dance again," sets the stage for the eventual triumph of hope over despair. The phrase "come what may, I love you" reinforces the belief that love can persevere through even the toughest times. However, the goodbye at the end of the verse hints at the fact that the singer and their loved one might not be together for some time - perhaps even forever.

The second verse of the song, "Fly far away from vile abuse," brings to mind the idea of escaping from a difficult situation. There is a sense of urgency and desperation in this line, suggesting that the abuse the singer is referring to is severe and dangerous. The phrase "til then, refuse to sing" at the end of the verse suggests a kind of silent protest against the harshness of the world. The singer is making a choice to withhold their voice until they are reunited with their loved one.

Overall, "Some Summer Day" is a moving song about the power of love to overcome pain and strife. The lyrics are beautifully crafted, and the melody is hauntingly beautiful. It speaks to the universal human experience of wanting to be with those we love, even when circumstances make it difficult or impossible.

Line by Line Meaning

Some summer day, we'll dance again
At some point in the future, we will have the opportunity to dance together once more on a summer day.

And, come what may, I love you
Regardless of what happens, I have strong feelings of affection and care for you.

Goodbye, my friend, goodbye
I am bidding you farewell, my friend, as we part ways for an unknown amount of time.

Fly far away from vile abuse
Leave behind and escape from any kind of harmful and cruel treatment.

Some summer day, I'll see you
At an unspecified day in the future, we will meet face-to-face once more.

Til then, refuse to sing
Until that day arrives, I will abstain from singing or expressing my emotions out loud.

Contributed by Lillian E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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