The band was originally formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 by friends Merritt and (percussionist/pianist/vocalist) Claudia Gonson. While 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and 1992's The Wayward Bus (now most easily available together as a compilation, The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees) are sung by Susan Anway (b. 1951 - d. 2021), all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.
Longtime members include: Gonson, (cellist) Sam Davol, and (banjo player/guitarist) John Woo. Contributors include (but are not limited to) the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, and the accordionist/writer Daniel Handler (famous for writing the childrens' books A Series of Unfortunate Events under the alias Lemony Snicket).
Their most popular and best-selling album to date is 69 Love Songs issued on Merge Records as a triple album filled with many fairly short songs that are reminiscent of early Beatles productions.
The album is notable for its employment of many unorthodox musical arrangements and downright impressive quantity of material presented. Instruments used on this album include the ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, piano, flute, xylophone guitars, various percussion instruments, and a standard setup of synths and effects. It features several guest vocalists on several different tracks. The album is a three CD set, released in the US as three separate albums (also available as a boxed set) and in the UK as a triple album.
The album i (2004, Nonesuch Records) continues Merritt's fixation on the concept album, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (and often the pronoun) "I".
The album Distortion, was released through Nonesuch on the 15th January 2008 and introduced noise pop to the array of styles utilized in their music. The album's release was followed by a sold-out U.S. tour starting in February. Additional albums followed in 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2020.
Stephin Merritt is involved in several other musical projects: The 6ths (featuring different guest performers on every track), The Gothic Archies (songs dealing humorously with dark themes) and Future Bible Heroes (with music written by Chris Ewen)
http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/
The Desperate Things You Made Me Do
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But love will tie the slipknot
And I will be the chair you kick away
You don't even like anything you like
Or the people you know
And all of your reasons to stay alive died
(Chorus): I dedicate this song to you
I'd like to beat you black and blue
For all the agony you have put me through
Front seat stained with love
A back seat full of bibles
Purloined from the drawers of lost motels
They say when you're older you'll understand
You know it's a lie
'cause you've got a twisted and mangled heart
(Chorus)
Down Route 66
You pilfered love and green stamps
W.C. Fields with Mae West in your eyes
They say every clock's a blunt instrument
Crushing the skull
But you've got a vise to rest your head in
(C)
The Magnetic Fields’ song "The Desperate Things You Made Me Do" is a haunting and melancholy track about the singer's intense emotions in response to someone who has caused them great pain. The singer describes themselves as being at the end of their rope, and love itself as the noose that will execute them. They go so far as to embrace the role of martyr, imagining themselves as the chair that the other person kicks out from under them. Despite their intense emotions, the lyrics suggest that the perpetrator of their pain is fickle and insincere, not even truly liking the things they claim to enjoy or the people they keep around themselves. All of their reasons to live have died, yet they remain tethered to this person who has harmed them.
The lyrics also contain several interesting images and allusions. The front seat of the singer’s car is "stained with love" while the back seat is "full of bibles" - a paradoxical combination that hints at religious guilt and perhaps the desperate search for meaning or redemption. The bibles are "purloined from the drawers of lost motels" - perhaps suggesting that faith is something that can be taken or borrowed, not necessarily originated from within. The reference to W.C. Fields with Mae West in their eyes is a tribute to the classic Hollywood comedians but also a reference to the idea of seeing the world through a distorted or cynical lens. Finally, the reference to clocks as a "blunt instrument" that can crush the skull is a macabre metaphor for the inexorable passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Time provides the rope
Life can be a long and difficult journey that eventually leads us to our fate
But love will tie the slipknot
It is the people we love who ultimately determine our fate and decide when it is our time to go
And I will be the chair you kick away
You have used me and I am now left alone and discarded
You don't even like anything you like
You are lost and don't know what you truly want or need in life
Or the people you know
Even the people you surround yourself with are unimportant to you
And all of your reasons to stay alive died
You have lost all motivation to continue living
I dedicate this song to you
This is a message to you, aimed specifically at you
For all the desperate things you made me do
You have forced me to do things I wouldn't have done otherwise in order to keep you happy
I'd like to beat you black and blue
I am angry and hurt by what you have put me through and want to hurt you in return
For all the agony you have put me through
You have caused me pain and suffering that I cannot easily forget
Front seat stained with love
The front seat of a car is often the site of romantic moments, but it has now been forever stained by our unhappy memories
A back seat full of bibles
The back seat, once reserved for passion, is now filled with religious texts meant to provide solace and guidance
Purloined from the drawers of lost motels
We have taken these bibles from rundown motels, places that offer no hope, to try and find some salvation
They say when you're older you'll understand
There are lessons in life that only come with age and experience
You know it's a lie
You believe that the truth is elusive and that there are things you will never understand or be able to explain
'Cause you've got a twisted and mangled heart
Your heart is damaged and broken, leading you to believe that there is no such thing as real love or happiness
Down Route 66
The famous highway that symbolizes the freedom and excitement of the open road
You pilfered love and green stamps
You have stolen love and happiness, and substituted them for material possessions that hold no real meaning
W.C. Fields with Mae West in your eyes
You have a jaded and sarcastic outlook on life, similar to the famous comedians
They say every clock's a blunt instrument
Time can be a harsh and unforgiving force that grinds away at our hopes and dreams
Crushing the skull
The passage of time can be so overwhelming that it feels like it is crushing our very minds and souls
But you've got a vise to rest your head in
You have found a way to cope with the pain and discomfort of life, even if it means relying on unhealthy habits or behaviors
(Chorus)
This is the refrain that repeats throughout the song
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Screen
The master of beautifully crafted, aching melancholy, irony, pathos and poison barbed understatement.
SlangForEyesores
"front seat stained with love a back seat full of bibles, purloined from the drawers of lost motels" That part always sends a chill up my spine.
jose pedragosa diaz
todo en uno,elegancia y talento, su obra maestra,Get Lost,ya debería ser un Clásico del pop de los 90
Quixo667
this guy is way too good at writing songs.
no wonder he's miserable and alone..
lancashire bomber
Quixo667 the opening lyrics of this song, confirm that!.genius.
2standard
Yeah, but he's sure providing a public service, eh?
Some people have something to say. Some people have to say it.
We hope those two subsets of humanity intersect.
Mick Penning
Definition of a despondent pessimist -'A well informed optimist'.
Billi-Jacquelin
thank you so much for posting this ONE OF my very many FAVE magnectic fields songs!!!!
New Dawnfades
"You don't even like anything you like or the people you know...I'd like to beat you black and blue for all the agony you have put me through." Thin line between love and hate, indeed.
hailey carter
one of my favorite songs by them