It's funny, I remember doing the Johnny Carson show, and, uh, I couldn't afford my rent. Natalie Merchant More Quotes by Natalie Merchant More Quotes From Natalie Merchant I wish I had appreciated my youth - I should have worn tighter clothing when I could have! Natalie Merchant youth should-have wish Have I been wrong? Have I been wise to shut my eyes? Natalie Merchant eye wise philosophy I think the most enduring lesson I was taught through my experiences of being a Girl Scout was that I was a member of a larger community. I out-grew my uniforms and badges years ago, but the memories of visiting nursing homes or organizing Earth Day tree plantings or my summers camping with girls from all different backgrounds will stay with me always. Natalie Merchant girl summer memories I’ve always considered it a great privilege to be a musician, I’ve never lost sight of that. Natalie Merchant privilege musician sight The research phase was really fascinating - I'm not a closeted nerd, I'm an out-of-the-closet nerd. Natalie Merchant phases nerd research I've raised my daughter with no television. Natalie Merchant daughter mother television I don't want to live in a culture of despair. I'd like to live in a culture of hope. Natalie Merchant despair want culture I don't think women's prisons are environments for dance routines, and I don't think mass murder is humorous. Natalie Merchant prison humorous thinking My mother was a single working mother; she started having children very young. There was a tension inside her about who she wanted to be and what she wanted to do and how she couldn’t achieve the things she wanted to. Natalie Merchant achieve mother children Life is sweet, life is also very short. Natalie Merchant life-is sweet philosophy I'm on this search trying to figure out exactly who I am and what I have to say to people. Natalie Merchant who-i-am trying people Poetry comes alive to me through recitation. Natalie Merchant recitation alive Be true to yourself, and, um, don't worry about some large companies' quarterly profit index. Natalie Merchant profit be-true-to-yourself worry TV holds a close second to cars for destroying our society. It's a failed experiment. Natalie Merchant our-society car television I was shy. Bookish. The kind of 13-year-old girl who, instead of having a boyfriend, would have a crush on a dead, 19th-century author! Natalie Merchant crush girl years I would say I'd rather dig a ditch, you know, do hard, manual labor than write lyrics. Natalie Merchant manuals labor writing I don't enjoy the work that I do. It's just that it's not self-sustaining anymore. The way that I like to make records - they're expensive records to make and just can't afford to do it anymore. Natalie Merchant records self way Literature gives us a window into other people's experiences in other places, in other times, so I thought it would be really interesting to investigate how different people had written about motherhood, and childhood. Natalie Merchant motherhood giving people I go to the river from time to time to ponder over the crazy days in my life. Watch the river flow, ease my mind and soul where I go. Natalie Merchant crazy rivers philosophy By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary. Natalie Merchant titles calling memories
