Natalie Merchant
She is a truly beautiful woman. I have loved her music, her voice, her stories for
over 20 years. I saw her in concert when she was with 10,000 Maniacs, way back when. I think I have purchased every bit of music she has created since then.
She has been a big part of my life. Her voice is soothing, rich and filled with passion, as well as compassion.
Leave Your Sleep is her most recent album, it came out about a year ago.
She collaborated with over 100 musicians to put this together.
It is a collection of children's poems, stories, songs that have meaning to her and her daughter. She put together a small book that tells a bit about each one and the author/writer of each. It's beautifully written and each song has it's own sound ranging from old worldly to jazzy. This was what I listened to most while painting the mural in the children's library.
So, this letter N, is a tribute to a woman who has been a tremendous source of
inspiration, beauty, calm and loveliness in my life. I am forever grateful to her and her amazing spirit that is so obviously filled with love, compassion, kindness, grace and so much more. For the beauty you have brought to my life.
Thank you!!
Girls and boys, come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street.
~Mother Goose
She is a beautiful, talented woman, and one of the things I love is that she is so down-to-earth and unassuming. A good post, and I've never heard of Leave Your Sleep but it's an evocative line and I'll check it out!
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I have ever heard her. I am going to look her up. What a great post! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh!!! Thank you Heather. I found her website where I could listen to her songs. I recognized her voice! Awesome. What great music to create to!
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing to me Natalie Merchant. I will look up her music straightaway. I discovered a little known to most, but most influential to me, singer (Thea Gilmore) through Neil Gaiman.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog and following. I hope you liked what you read and saw.
Have a great new week, Roland
I met Natalie Merchant for about 3 seconds. I don't remember the exact circumstances, because it was so many years ago now, but my friend and I were following/stalking/being groupies for another band that was opening for 10,000 Maniacs one night and we were backstage.
ReplyDeleteHer voice is amazing and some of her music is heart wrenching. Verdi Cries is one of my favorites.
Great pick!