Thirsty Merc have released one EP entitled First Work, and 3 studio albums; Thirsty Merc, Slideshows, and Mousetrap Heart. The band has sold over 200,000 albums, has toured extensively around Australia, and have received heavy airplay in Australia on an impressive number of songs. After breaking through onto the Australian music scene they were nominated for four ARIA Awards in 2005 and Rai was nominated for Song of the Year at the APRA Awards in 2008 for Thirsty Merc's top 2 airplay hit 20 Good Reasons. Their song In the Summertime was selected as the theme song for the Australian TV reality show Bondi Rescue and has been the theme song for seven consecutive seasons.
Three of the founding members of Thirsty Merc - Karl Robertson, Matthew Baker and Phil Stack - had played together in bands in Dubbo in regional NSW. In 2002 they teamed up with Sydney-sider Rai Thistlethwayte to form a band called "Thirsty"; soon after, they moved to Sydney and renamed themselves "Thirsty Merc". The band's name comes from a gas guzzling Mercedes Benz which belonged to lead singer Rai when the band was first rehearsing. The name also is a play on the phrase 'Thirsty Work:' The band members used to say that it was 'thirsty work' being in a rock band.
Thirsty Merc's first EP, First Work, was released on 8 September 2003 on the band's own label Don't Music label. The EP had been recorded independently during downtime at a studio that lead singer Rai worked during the days. The EP's only Single Wasting Time achieved radio airplay on Australian Radio stations Triple J and Nova but failed to chart. The self funded music video to the single became the 'ripe clip of the week' on Channel V. After extensive gigging around Sydney's pubs, reps from Warner Music approached the band after watching the band perform live at the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills, and soon after at the Annandale Hotel.
Thirsty Merc's debut studio album was the self titled Thirsty Merc, released on 16 August 2004. The band again chose to work with Warner Music Australia. The album spent 48 weeks on the ARIA Albums Chart, peaking at #15, and launched the band in the Australian mainstream. The album reached #29 on New Zealand's RIANZ chart. The band worked with producer Lindsay Gravina on the album, who had been producing Australian bands over the past 15 years or so, notably The Living End and Magic Dirt. The band's debut was entirely recorded and mixed on 2 inch tape, and mixed by Gravina himself at his Melbourne studio, Birdland Studios.
Four singles were released from Thirsty Merc: Emancipate Myself, My Completeness, Someday, Someday, In the Summertime, and When the Weather Is Fine. All of the singles charted in Australia, with Someday, Someday reaching #19, while only In the Summertime charted in New Zealand, where it peaked higher than in Australia. In the Summertime was nominated for the 2005 ARIA Award for "Best Video", while Someday, Someday was nominated for "Single Of The Year", "Best Group", and "Best Pop Release". In interviews after the album's release, Thistlethwayte stated that the album was the band trying to "Just be yourself", and that the album was "just about being young and living in Australia".
Prior to the touring of Thirsty Merc's Debut album, guitarist Matt Baker left the band, and was replaced by Sean Carey, whom the band had met when they played a support slot to Carey's band at Kings Cross venue/club 'Club 77. Slideshows, was released on 21 April 2007 via Warner Music Australia. The album was the band's most successful release yet, peaking at #4 in Australia, although it was less successful in New Zealand, only reaching #38. The album's first three singles, 20 Good Reasons, The Hard Way, and Those Eyes, achieved chart success, with 20 Good Reasons reaching #4 in Australia and #17 in New Zealand. The album's fourth single, Homesick, was released digitally, peaking at #57 in Australia.
After the release of Slideshows, Thirsty Merc toured extensively around Australia, playing an album tour in theatres nationally and then regional tours, the biggest of which had 38 shows booked across seven weeks.
Prior to the recording of Mousetrap Heart, lead guitarist Sean left the band indefinitely and this was formally announced on 14 January 2010. Sean was replaced by Matt Smith, who also plays with afrobeat and reggae band The Strides.
On 18 June 2010, Thirsty Merc released their third album, entitled Mousetrap Heart which was recorded mostly in LA with producer Matt Wallace, and two tracks produced in Melbourne with longtime Thirsty Merc producer Lindsay Gravina. The band toured nationally in July 2010 to support the new album. The lead single is the title track, which reached top 15 airplay in Australia and charted Top 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The band's next single, All My Life, was featured in the promotional clips for the AFL grand final in 2010. The official music video for All My Life was shot in early October 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand, and follows a narrative of 'heroic love' set on a Thailand military base. The video features Russian model/actress Maria Mazikova, 50 Thai army troops, an Iroquois helicopter and a Chinook helicopter. The All My Life video was directed by Adrian Van de Velde, who also directed the bands ARIA nominated clip In The Summertime.
http://www.thirstymerc.com/
20 Good Reasons
Thirsty Merc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wrote that book
I climbed that wall
I had one look
The streets were filled with guilty hearts
And here was I right from the start
And I lost everything
When I lost you
So tell me why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
And at that point
There was no pain
There was no sky
There was no rain fall
All there was was you and your sweet face
But life is life
And things will change
Like scenes upon an actors stage
Tomorrow comes today
for all we know
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
Give me 20 good reasons [X3]
To let you go
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah, yeah
Give me 20 good reasons [X2]
Good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
Give me 20 good reasons [X3]
The song "20 Good Reasons" by Thirsty Merc is a pleading ballad about a failed relationship. The opening lines imply that the songwriter has experienced pain in love before and has written about it, perhaps hoping to find a way to avoid that pain in the future. But despite his caution, he fell for someone and lost them.
The chorus is a direct appeal to his former partner, asking them for "20 good reasons" to let them go. The verses describe the intensity and beauty of their relationship ("there was no rain fall/all there was was you and your sweet face") but acknowledges that life is unpredictable and things can change quickly ("tomorrow comes today for all we know"). Ultimately, the songwriter is looking for closure and a clear understanding of why the relationship ended.
The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the songwriter's desperation for answers and closure. The last lines repeat the plea one more time, stressing the importance of the issue for the songwriter. The song conveys a sense of longing, heartbreak, and the difficulties of letting go of a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
They said love hurts
Love is commonly associated with hurt or pain.
I wrote that book
I have personal experience with the pain of love.
I climbed that wall
I have overcome obstacles to be with someone I love.
I had one look
I fell in love at first sight.
But you just came around, to say hello
You unexpectedly entered my life and caught my attention.
The streets were filled with guilty hearts
Many people around me were dealing with their own relationship issues.
And here was I right from the start
I was there witnessing these issues from the beginning.
And I lost everything
I lost the love that was most important to me.
When I lost you
My world fell apart when I lost you.
So tell me why-why-why-why
Please give me a reason.
Should I let you go
Why should I move on from you?
Give me 20 good reasons
I need a compelling argument.
I need to know
I need to understand.
And at that point
In that moment.
There was no pain
I felt no emotional pain.
There was no sky
Everything else was unimportant.
There was no rain fall
Nothing else mattered but you.
All there was was you and your sweet face
You were everything to me.
But life is life
Life goes on.
And things will change
Situations are not permanent.
Like scenes upon an actors stage
Like different acts in a play.
Tomorrow comes today
We must face reality.
for all we know
We cannot predict what may happen.
Give me 20 good reasons [X3]
Please give me compelling reasons to move on.
To let you go
To move on from you.
Yeah
An expression of agreement.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kevin Sidey
They said love hurts
I wrote that book
I climbed that wall
I had one look
But you just came around, to say hello
The streets were filled with guilty hearts
And here was I right from the start
And I lost everything
When I lost you
So tell me why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
And at that point
There was no pain
There was no sky
There was no rain fall
All there was was you and your sweet face
But life is life
And things will change
Like scenes upon an actors stage
Tomorrow comes today
for all we know
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
Give me 20 good reasons [X3]
To let you go
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
So tell me baby why-why-why-why
Should I let you go
Give me 20 good reasons
I need to know
Yeah, yeah
Give me 20 good reasons [X2]
Good reasons
I need to know
Yeah
Give me 20 good reasons
Povka
Incredibly under rated Australian band, and the bass playing was phenomenal
Damian Church
Stuck In my head for days....
Beautiful song 🙏
Rekke
If only Thirsty Merc got the credit they deserve.
peanuts1195
Are you a Runescape Gnome?
peanuts1195
yess
RoasterMcdougalify
They did make some absolutely banging tunes.
Abbi Leech
I can’t like this comment enough
Paige Alexandra Battley
Saw them live last night in Toowoomba for NYE. Thank you so much Thirsty Merc for making my New Year’s Eve special!
Will Watts
Was also there, top night & a great start to a fantastic 2023
JakeyD
Can't believe one of my favourite songs isn't a world wide hit, I would have expected about 20 million views for this, guess it's hard for us Aussies to go viral.