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."
The Menu
Stephin Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pussy Willow can go and go.
Black-Eyed Susan: bruise but don't burn.
Poison Ivy could take a tree.
Obviously, Five Finger Fern, um...
Narcissus folds in unusual ways.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit bends.
You give the orders and Catnip obeys.
Um... African Violet does tricks with her tongue.
Venus Fly Trap is... tight.
Honeysuckle is especially young.
All are not free, but they're free for the night.
Stephin Merritt's The Menu seems to be a metaphorical presentation of the different types of women a man encounters in his life. The song is suggestive of the idea that the world is abundant with women, and each is unique in their behavior and characteristics. The opening line, "I criss-cross this wide world for a single flower..." indicates the idea that the singer is searching for the perfect woman in different parts of the world. Each type of flower mentioned in the song represents a different personality or a trait that the singer has observed in the women.
For example, Pussy Willow is a type of woman who is always on the move, while Black-Eyed Susan represents women who are resilient and do not give up easily. Poison Ivy, on the other hand, could represent the toxic relationships that some women indulge in. Five Finger Fern and Narcissus exemplify unique personalities, and Jack-in-the-Pulpit and Catnip signify women who are sensitive to a man’s direction. Lily-of-the-Nile, African Violet, Venus Fly Trap, and Honeysuckle all represent different types of women who are willing to submit themselves for a moment or night of passion. The overall message of the song seems to be that like a menu, men have many choices concerning the type of women they want to be with, and it's up to them to choose what's best for them based on their tastes and preferences.
Line by Line Meaning
I criss-cross this wide world for a single flower...
I scour the world for that rare, unique item I am seeking
Pussy Willow can go and go.
Pussy Willow is enduring; it keeps going no matter what
Black-Eyed Susan: bruise but don't burn.
Black-Eyed Susan can get hurt but bounces back without being destroyed completely
Poison Ivy could take a tree.
Poison Ivy is strong and powerful enough to take down even a big tree
Obviously, Five Finger Fern, um...
Well, it's a no-brainer that Five Finger Fern is one of the best
Narcissus folds in unusual ways.
Narcissus is unique and has its own quirky charm
Jack-in-the-Pulpit bends.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit is flexible and can adapt to different circumstances
You give the orders and Catnip obeys.
Catnip is obedient and follows orders
Lily-of-the-Nile waters her friends...
Lily-of-the-Nile is a nurturing plant that takes care of its surroundings
Um... African Violet does tricks with her tongue.
Err..African Violet has unique traits or characteristics that make it different from others
Venus Fly Trap is... tight.
Venus Fly Trap is efficient and operates with precision
Honeysuckle is especially young.
Honeysuckle is fresh and youthful, full of energy and vitality
All are not free, but they're free for the night.
These are not available on a free basis permanently, but they can be enjoyed for the night or for a limited period
Contributed by Jonathan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.