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.
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Like Snow
Thirsty Merc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like everything I feel
The world keeps turning
My hands
My hands are all I see
No path under my feet
I'm falling
One light
One light in all this time
The world keeps turning
I try
I try my best to see
And it follows me
It's calling
It's calling
Like snow
Like everything I feel
The world keeps turning
My hands
My hands are all I see
No path under my feet
I'm falling
I'm falling
The overall theme of Thirsty Merc's song "Like Snow" seems to deal with feelings of uncertainty and confusion. The opening line "Like snow, like everything I feel, the world keeps turning" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The metaphor of snow is used throughout the lyrics as a way to convey the transient and fleeting nature of life and emotions. The singer seems to be grappling with the idea that everything they experience is temporary and constantly changing, like the falling of snowflakes.
The lines "My hands, my hands are all I see, no path under my feet" give the impression of someone who is lost and without direction. The hands are a representation of the self, and the lack of a path indicates a feeling of being unsure of where one is headed. The repetition of the line "I'm falling" adds to the feeling of uncertainty and vulnerability.
The chorus of the song features the lines "One light in all this time, the world keeps turning, I try my best to see, and it follows me. It's calling, it's calling." Here, the singer seems to be searching for some sort of guidance or direction, represented by the "one light." Despite their efforts to find their way, the world continues to move forward without pause. The idea of something "calling" suggests that the singer is being pulled towards a certain destination or goal, but is not quite sure what it is yet.
Overall, "Like Snow" captures the feeling of being lost or uncertain in one's journey through life. It conveys a sense of searching for direction and meaning, but not quite being able to grasp it.
Line by Line Meaning
Like snow
Just like snow can cover everything, my emotions are consuming me
Like everything I feel
The intensity of my emotions is all-encompassing
The world keeps turning
Despite my emotional turmoil, life goes on
My hands
I feel lost and aimless, with nothing to hold onto but my own hands
My hands are all I see
I am so lost that even my own hands are my only point of reference
No path under my feet
I have no clear direction or purpose in life
I'm falling
I feel like I'm spiraling out of control
One light
Amidst all the darkness and uncertainty, there is one glimmer of hope
One light in all this time
Despite the passing of time, that singular hope remains
I try
I'm doing my best to keep going and hold onto that hope
I try my best to see
Through the fog of my emotions, I am straining to see the way forward
And it follows me
That hope is always there, even when I feel like I'm alone
It's calling
That glimmer of hope is beckoning me forward
It's calling
The hope and possibility of a better future is constantly on my mind
Like snow
The overwhelming weight of my emotions is like a blanket of snow
Like everything I feel
My emotional state is all-consuming, and affects every aspect of my being
The world keeps turning
Despite my struggles, life moves on and time continues to pass
My hands
Still lost, still searching for a direction or purpose
My hands are all I see
My own body is my only constant in a world that feels overwhelming and unpredictable
No path under my feet
Still feeling like I'm drifting aimlessly through life
I'm falling
Still spiraling out of control, unable to find my footing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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