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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Wasting Time
Thirsty Merc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm trying to make you notice me but you don't care
You play me like a broken game of Snakes and Ladders
Or cards or piano or a record that's been thrown in the trash
I like you
I've liked you since I saw you walking down my street
I like your little vibe and your clothes and feet
Nose and your face and your life
I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
Three blind mice
I may as well be asking them for stable advice
Instead I'm on a seesaw all day and night
And all week and all month and all year all my life
I'm only human
If only you could see
You do some pretty crazy little things to me
And I don't wanna change the course of history
I just want you to be, next to someone like me
And be free
'Cause I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
Wasting time
Wasting time with you
Wasting time
Wasting time with you
Now you know
My thoughts about where I would like the story to go
I feel that if you really like to play it cool
We should do it, do it, do it, yeah
I know your name
And I've got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing
I just wanna waste some time with you
I know your name
I got your number
I don't wanna save the world
I just wanna waste some time with you
We're both so young
We might as well face it
I don't wanna change nothing at all
I just wanna waste some time with you
The song "Wasting Time" by Thirsty Merc is about a person who has developed feelings for someone they like but the feeling is not mutual. The person is trying to get the attention of the other by playing all kinds of games such as Snakes and Ladders or cards or a piano, but they seem to have given up on getting noticed. They fantasize about spending time with this person and describe all the things they like about them, from their clothes to their hair and their life. The person knows the other's name and has their number but just wants to spend time with them and not change anything.
The person compares the situation with asking advice from three blind mice and feels like they are on a seesaw all day and night, and all week, month, and year. However, despite all of this, they still want to be with this person and spend some time with them. They are not interested in changing the course of history, they just want the other's attention and be free.
Line by Line Meaning
All is fair
I understand that things don't always work out the way we plan
I'm trying to make you notice me but you don't care
I'm putting in effort to get to know you, but you don't seem interested
You play me like a broken game of Snakes and Ladders
You're toying with my emotions, leaving me confused and uncertain about where I stand with you
Or cards or piano or a record that's been thrown in the trash
You're treating me like a meaningless object, something that can be easily discarded
I like you
I have feelings for you and find you attractive
I've liked you since I saw you walking down my street
I've been interested in you since the first time I saw you
I like your little vibe and your clothes and feet
I find your personal style and vibe appealing, down to even the small details like your clothes and feet
And your hair and your eyes and your nose and your face and your life
I appreciate everything about you, from your physical features to your life experiences
I know your name
I'm familiar with your identity
And I've got your number
I have a way to contact you
I don't wanna save the world
I'm not trying to accomplish anything grandiose or change the world with you
I just wanna waste some time with you
I simply want to spend time together, without any particular goal or purpose
We're both so young
We're both in our youth with plenty of time ahead of us
We might as well face it
We should accept and acknowledge the truth of our situation
I don't wanna change nothing
I'm content with how things are and don't want to alter our dynamic in any significant way
Three blind mice
I feel as though I'm seeking guidance from someone who is incapable of helping me
I may as well be asking them for stable advice
I may as well be asking the three blind mice for advice on how to proceed
Instead I'm on a seesaw all day and night
I'm caught in a constant back-and-forth struggle trying to figure out where we stand
And all week and all month and all year all my life
This has been a recurring issue for me, something I've dealt with my entire life
I'm only human
I'm not perfect and have flaws like anyone else
If only you could see
If only you could understand how I feel and reciprocate my emotions
You do some pretty crazy little things to me
You make me feel things I never thought were possible, both good and bad
And I don't wanna change the course of history
I'm not trying to do anything monumental or change the course of history with you
I just want you to be, next to someone like me
I simply want to be in a relationship with you
And be free
I want us both to feel liberated and unrestricted in our relationship
Now you know
I'm revealing my thoughts to you
My thoughts about where I would like the story to go
I'm letting you know where I see our relationship heading
I feel that if you really like to play it cool
I sense that you may be trying to act casual and indifferent about our relationship
We should do it, do it, do it, yeah
We should start a relationship and see where it takes us
Wasting time
Spending time with each other without any particular goal
Wasting time with you
Specifically spending time with you without any particular goal
I know your name
I've mentioned this before, but I'm familiar with who you are
I got your number
I have a way to contact you if I need to
I don't wanna save the world
I'm not trying to accomplish anything grand or world-changing with you
We're both so young
We have our whole lives ahead of us
We might as well face it
We should acknowledge the truth of our situation
I don't wanna change nothing at all
I'm happy with the way things are and don't want to alter anything
I just wanna waste some time with you
Again, I simply want to spend time with you without any particular goal in mind
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: THISTLETHWAYTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind