Merritt's father taught her guitar chords and Percy Sledge songs. She began her professional career in 1998 with her band The Carbines playing small clubs. In her early twenties, though Tift had gigged by herself, she decided she was not very good at music and better suited for writing short stories. She and her dog Lucy started school at UNC to study creative writing. There, she met Zeke Hutchins, whose band had just taken a hiatus and who had decided to become a school teacher. With his encouragement and a big box of LPs from the 70's that they both liked, they started a band. Zeke set drums up in the kitchen of Tift's farmhouse on the outskirts of town, and they practiced songs at her red piano. The Carbines played Chapel Hill haunts like the Cave, the Cat's Cradle, and the front porch of the General Store in Bynum, NC. Tift also made a guest appearance on the Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt EP.
In 2000, Tift won Merlefest's Chris Austin Songwriting contest, and with the help of Ryan Adams, found herself with a manager and a recording contract with Lost Highway records. The band headed to LA to record her first release, Bramble Rose, in 2002, produced by Ethan Johns. The record landed on Time Magazine's and New Yorker's top ten lists and was called the best debut of the year in any genre by the Associated Press. Tambourine followed in 2004. Produced by George Drakoulias, featuring Mike Campbell of the Hearbreakers on guitar, Tambourine was a soul-rock throw down, Grammy-nominated for Country Album of the Year, even though it was really not a country album. It was also nominated for three Americana Music Awards. The tour opened for Elvis Costello, recorded Austin City Limits, releasing the performance as a live DVD, and made Home Is Loud, a document of the tour's homecoming concert in Raleigh, NC. As the tour was winding down, Tift ran away to Paris looking for her mojo and, without intending to, started writing songs that would become Another Country. Another Country was released on Fantasy Records in 2008, again with George Drakoulias and her longtime band at the helm. Buckingham Solo, recorded in England, is an intimate concert behind Another Country, released on Fantasy in April 2009. Also in 2009, Tift had her first art exhibit, Other Countries, bringing the journals and pictures behind Another Country to light.
Tift also produces The Spark for KRTS Marfa, Texas Public Radio. The Spark explores the real lives and processes of the people behind great works of art. Guests have included writer Nick Hornby, artist Kiki Smith, songstress and Merge co-founder Mac MCCaughan. Emmylou Harris, when asked about Tift, said, “I first heard Tift Merritt some years ago during a writer's night at a small club in Nashville. She stood out like a diamond in a coal patch, and everyone there knew she carried a promise of great things to come.”
In 2009, Tift married longtime collaborator Zeke Hutchins. They lived in a small Greenwich Village apartment in NYC, and later divorced.
Traveling Alone, her fifth studio album, was recorded in Brooklyn and featuring guest spots from Marc Ribot, Andrew Bird, and others, was released in the fall of 2012.
Her sixth studio Stitch of the World was released in 2017. According to the review in Pop Matters, "The stories surrounding Stitch of the World, Tift Merritt's most recent album, make up their narrative, with divorce, relocation, and childbirth at the center of the tale... But Merritt's gift for the record has been to write a series of songs that sound personal without relying on anything autobiographical... the songs are individual, a capturing of Merritt's vision that's unguarded and inviting without being limited."
http://www.tiftmerritt.com/
Mixtape
Tift Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I take the advice I find in your eyes.
Me, I've been waiting outside
Most of my life,
Oh like a rare b-side.
I'm just making you mixtapes with homemade covers.
Analog to show we're lovers,
I've taped my heart for you to find.
To find the perfect way,
Which album to say,
I la la love you.
With this plastic cassette,
It's not finished yet,
It's gonna tell you slowly.
I'm just making you mixtapes with homemade covers.
Strings and drawings show we're lovers,
When you're driving around in the summertime,
To hear again, just press rewind.
Rewind, the world comes to an end,
Turns over again,
Another 1000 times.
But me, I'll be the same.
No, I never change,
Oh, like a rare B-side.
I'll be making you mixtapes with homemade covers.
Analog to show we're lovers,
So much rock and roll love in a plastic case,
Play it loudly, see my face.
I'm just making you mixtapes with homemade covers,
Mazzy Star, Donovan's Colors,
Just an audio love letter painted blue,
I spent all day making for you.
In Tift Merritt's "Mixtape," the singer reveals how much she adores someone by giving them mixtapes. She looks at her crush and expresses her admiration for him, saying he is so wise and that she takes the advice she finds in his eyes. She has been waiting outside for him for most of her life, just like a rare b-side. She is creating mixtapes with homemade covers, analog songs that represent their love. The singers' love is shown through the art they created, demonstrating how they are lovers, and how she has taped her heart to the tapes for him to find.
The singer focuses on the perfect way to say, "I love you," through the songs on the mixtape. She spends time getting the perfect tracks, explaining that it's not finished yet, but it's perfect for him. The mixtape represents the emotions she feels for her love, and she explains that she'll make more of them for him. They represent her world, and she says that even as the world changes, she'll always be the same.
Line by Line Meaning
You, how did you get so wise?
I am curious about how you gained so much wisdom and insight.
I take the advice I find in your eyes.
I rely on the guidance I receive from looking into your eyes.
Me, I've been waiting outside
Most of my life,
Oh like a rare b-side.
I have spent most of my life waiting for someone special, like a rare and valuable piece of music.
I'm just making you mixtapes with homemade covers.
Analog to show we're lovers,
And here under the jacket folds inside,
I've taped my heart for you to find.
I am expressing my love for you through the creation of homemade mixtapes that show our connection and depth of feeling. Inside the cover, I have placed a piece of my heart for you to discover and cherish.
To find the perfect way,
Which album to say,
I la la love you.
I am struggling to find the best way to express my love to you, through the selection of the perfect album and the right words to say.
With this plastic cassette,
It's not finished yet,
It's gonna tell you slowly.
This mixtape that I am creating for you is a work in progress, but it will reveal my feelings for you slowly and steadily.
Strings and drawings show we're lovers,
When you're driving around in the summertime,
To hear again, just press rewind.
The images and music captured on this mixtape are symbols of our love and connection. You can listen to it again and again by simply pressing the rewind button.
Rewind, the world comes to an end,
Turns over again,
Another 1000 times.
Despite the chaos and upheaval in the world, the simple act of rewinding a cassette tape offers comfort and stability.
But me, I'll be the same.
No, I never change,
Oh, like a rare B-side.
In a world of constant change and uncertainty, I remain steadfast and dependable, like a rare and valuable record.
So much rock and roll love in a plastic case,
Play it loudly, see my face.
This mixtape is brimming with love and affection, encapsulated in a simple plastic case that can be played loudly and proudly for all to hear.
I'm just making you mixtapes with homemade covers,
Mazzy Star, Donovan's Colors,
Just an audio love letter painted blue,
I spent all day making for you.
This mixtape is a love letter to you, crafted with care and devotion over the course of a day. It contains songs from artists like Mazzy Star and Donovan, and is a testament to the depth of my feelings for you.
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: TIFT MERRITT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind