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/
Everything But You
Thirsty Merc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Near where the swings have always been.
I left my house and made no sound,
Not a soul was all around.
Soon I saw the streetlights glow,
Ran towards to say hello,
Everything was in my view,
Everything and everything but you.
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
I took a left and stole a right
Counted my steps on that dark night.
I knew you must be somewhere near
You'd said you'd meet me here.
Maybe you had lost your way
In the shadows blue and grey.
Everything was clear and true,
Everything and everything but you.
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
What could I do? I still had faith.
I saw my clock's dishevelled face.
But hours passed and still no sign,
Days and nights and Summertimes.
I am old but have no fear,
You said you would meet me here.
Everything is clear and true,
Everything and everything but you.
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
The song "Everything But You" by Thirsty Merc talks about a person who is waiting for someone special who promised to meet them at a particular spot at night. The writer, in the first verse, narrates how they left their house, quietly and went to the place of the meeting where they expected to see the person. However, they could see everything around, but the person he or she was waiting for. The second verse tells us how, even after looking at every corner, there is still no sign of that person. The writer took all the rights and lefts, counting his or her footsteps, but still, there's no sign of that special someone.
The writer continues to say that even after hours, days, and months of waiting, he or she hasn't given up on the hope of that person showing up. In the bridge section, they say, "I am old but have no fear, You said you would meet me here. Everything is clear and true, Everything and everything but you." These lines indicate that the person has been waiting for a very long time, but they still have faith that the promised meeting will happen one day.
Line by Line Meaning
You said you'd wait at night for me,
You promised to wait for me at night in the usual spot near the swings.
Near where the swings have always been.
In the location where the swings have always been placed.
I left my house and made no sound,
I left my house quietly without making any noise.
Not a soul was all around.
No one was in sight or near me.
Soon I saw the streetlights glow,
I noticed the streetlights shining in the distance.
Ran towards to say hello,
I hurried to greet you.
Everything was in my view,
I could see everything around me.
Everything and everything but you.
I could see everything except you, who I was looking for.
I took a left and stole a right
I turned left and then quickly made a right turn.
Counted my steps on that dark night.
I was counting my steps during the dark night.
I knew you must be somewhere near
I had confidence that you were around the area.
You'd said you'd meet me here.
You promised to meet me at this location.
Maybe you had lost your way
Perhaps you had taken a wrong turn and lost your direction.
In the shadows blue and grey.
In the dark and cool shadows of blue and gray colors.
Everything was clear and true,
I could see everything clearly and accurately.
Everything and everything but you.
I could see everything except you, who I was looking for.
What could I do? I still had faith.
Although I was unsure what to do, I maintain my belief in finding you.
I saw my clock's disheveled face.
I noticed the untidy appearance of my clock.
But hours passed and still no sign,
Several hours went by, but you had not appeared.
Days and nights and Summertimes.
Countless days, nights, and even summer times went by.
I am old but have no fear,
Although I have aged, I still do not fear.
You said you would meet me here.
I am still waiting for you because you promised you would come to this location.
Everything is clear and true,
I can still see everything clearly and accurately.
Everything and everything but you.
I can still see everything except you, who I was looking for.
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Oh, but you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Little Fella
I’m glad I found other people who appreciate beautiful underrated music
PapitoX
Most underrated song of all time!!
Wendy Palmer
this has always been my fave song of theirs all time! :)
Olly Faitua
Most underrated song of all time.
donna davies
about time some one else gave us this poem
Shaun Weber
I have watched prob 300 of this videos views