Saying Something

For a while, I had been looking for the right 10,000 Maniacs song to first bring to this blog.  I have some of Natalie Merchant's CD's, and found the band's music catchy, but I didn't just want to cover someone singing about the weather.  I then found out that the band really has weather to talk about (the original roster was all from Western New York).  I also found songs that were extremely hard hitting.  The song that popped up on my Pandora station is "What's the Matter Here?" from 1987's In My Tribe.

Like Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" or the Cowboy Junkies' "Misguided Angel", this 10,000 Maniacs song is about a very important subject.  I know that Natalie Merchant is a very driven activist, but I hope that she was never in the position that these lyrics depict.  The singer's character knows this boy living next door.   Not by name, but she particularly cares about him.  She describes how he can be seen running naked out of the house, hiding from his father, and we see that her feelings for the boy are also of the sympathy.  She repeatedly wonders if she should speak up, but argues with herself that it's not her place to intrude on the matter (in the past 29 years, people have learned not to be so hesitant when they see something that they know is wrong).  ...  Another verse talks about the boy's mother.  From outside she's rarely seen but could be heard through the neighborhood, yelling and screaming curses and threats of corporal punishment.  The singer thinks about how it's not her place to call out the boys parents, and she hears another threat, one of using the belt.

The last verse doesn't have anything leading up to a direct dialogue, but I hope that she is speaking to the parent's faces.  She asks what could the child have done so wrong that he deserves to be treated in such a way.  She points out how instead of nurturing, what these parents offer the child is pain.

I was deeply moved by this song, and cringed as I heard all the details described.  I couldn't help but imagine in horror what additionally goes on that the singer isn't even aware of.  This song has inspired me to look more throughly through the catalogues of the 10,000 Maniacs and Merchant as a solo artist.

I also wish the best for any survivors of abuse who may be reading this.