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/
Sweet Spot
Tift Merritt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothin' fit
Nothin' wasted and no deal to make
What you need is what you want to take
And what you take you use
I'm just looking for that sweet spot
Where I can live the way that I want
If you want me too
Are you comin' too
The fire is steady and the beat is strong
Give is good and wide and long
It don't even have to hold on
'Cause it's got a hold of you
I'm just looking for that sweet spot
Where I can love the way that I want
Ill be waiting for you out front
If you want me too
Are you comin' too
And when I find that sweet spot
Gonna give it everything I've got
Turn up the radio a whole lot
For the afternoon
Soft as a woman
Strong as a man
Throws yours head back in a full-mouth laugh
It's like knowing you can sleep at night
But you don't want to
I'm just looking for that sweet spot
Where I can love the way that I want
Ill be waiting for you out front
If you want me too
Are you comin' too
Are you comin' too
In Tift Merritt's "Sweet Spot," the lyrics describe a place of pure contentment, with the singer yearning to find it. The song begins by noting that what is needed is simply what is wanted, with nothing fancy or wasted. The focus is on finding a place where the singer can live as they desire, without any need for negotiation or compromise. This "sweet spot" is described as a place where love can flourish, and the singer implores the listener to join them and share in this idyllic space.
As the song continues, the emphasis shifts to the qualities of this "sweet spot." The fire is steady, the beat is strong, and the music is all-encompassing. There is no need to hold back, because the music has already taken hold. The tone of the song becomes more passionate, with the singer determined to find this elusive place and give it their all. The song ends with a sense of joy and laughter, a place where both softness and strength are valued, and the desire to experience this "sweet spot" is still very strong.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothin' fancy
Simplicity is key
Nothin' fit
No need for conformity
Nothin' wasted and no deal to make
Nothing is being taken for granted
What you need is what you want to take
Taking only what is necessary
And what you take you use
Making use of what you have
I'm just looking for that sweet spot
Searching for a place of contentment
Where I can live the way that I want
A place of freedom and individuality
Ill be waiting for you out front
Invitation to share in the experience
If you want me too
Offering companionship
The fire is steady and the beat is strong
Stability and rhythm
Give is good and wide and long
Generosity and abundance
It don't even have to hold on
No need for control
'Cause it's got a hold of you
Embracing the moment
And when I find that sweet spot
Determination to find happiness
Gonna give it everything I've got
Commitment to making it work
Turn up the radio a whole lot
Celebration of joy
For the afternoon
Enjoying the present moment
Soft as a woman
Gentleness and compassion
Strong as a man
Strength and resilience
Throws yours head back in a full-mouth laugh
Embracing happiness and laughter
It's like knowing you can sleep at night
Feeling a sense of security
But you don't want to
Refusing to let go of the moment
Are you comin' too
Asking for company and connection
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: TIFT MERRITT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
theonemodifier
She should be more famous. She has it!
Jack Berry
I can listen to that song 10 straight times & still want more -- it really hits the sweet spot.
seeburg220
A beautiful Siren's song.
And that Telecaster's tone ! Wow !
KatieColeOfficial
Beautiful song. Love this video. Your radiance shines through perfectly!
Tom Sillers
I think the only reason she is not a humongous star is that she makes no concessions to modern commercial tastes. But she is the real deal, something special.
Louloute2eme delouteau
merci pour ce nouvelle album " TRAVELING ALONE " j'ai particuliérement apprécié le 2eme CD trés intimiste . encore une fois merci de nous faire partager votre voix
Sarah Norrad
You are a musical ray of sunshine!
crobarus
Tift should be way more famous than she is.
John Dickinson
Love this song ... Nice video xxx
Samantha Cooper
Beautiful. I want to learn this.
❤😌