 Blind Man's Zoo (1989) [ larger cover art ] |
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Trouble me, disturb me with all your cares and your worries.
Trouble me on the days when you feel spent.
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden when my back is sturdy and strong?
Trouble me.
Speak to me, don't mislead me, the calm I feel means a storm is swelling;
there's no telling where it starts or how it ends.
Speak to me, why are you building this thick brick wall to defend me when your silence is my greatest fear?
Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden when my back is sturdy and strong?
Speak to me.
Let me have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning.
Please don't hide them just because of tears.
Let me send you off to sleep with a "There, there, now stop your turning and tossing."
Let me know where the hurt is and how to heal.
Spare me? Don't spare me anything troubling.
Trouble me, disturb me with all your cares and your worries.
Speak to me and let our words build a shelter from the storm.
Lastly, let me know what I can mend.
There's more, honestly, than my sweet friend, you can see.
Trust is what I'm offering if you trouble me.
| danmcminn (L'viv, Ukraine) | Posted: May 24, 2010 - 02:46 Hannio wrote: meloman wrote: Okay, I bow to your obviously greater knowledge of sheep. It is only natural that I would have a great knowledge of sheep, being descended from Scottish sheep... uh, knowers. __________________________________ Wait... sheep-knowers. You wouldn't by any chance be related to these two?   |
| CamLwalk (Albany NY) | Posted: Dec 17, 2009 - 09:14 Lovely. |
| Hannio (Austin, TX) | Posted: Oct 15, 2009 - 12:41 meloman wrote: Okay, I bow to your obviously greater knowledge of sheep. It is only natural that I would have a great knowledge of sheep, being descended from Scottish sheep... uh, knowers. |
| lemmoth (NYC) | Posted: Oct 15, 2009 - 12:28 Wallis wrote: Got to see them live post-Natalie, and I thought they were quite good-much more of a "band" and less of a backing mechanism for the singer. And they, dare I say, sort of "rocked". And this from a guy who digs Merzbow. Did you see them with Oscar Saville singing. I used to work with her when she had a "straight" job. Cool lady. |
| kcar | Posted: Jun 11, 2009 - 00:07 ndad47 wrote: i like to sing this to addicts when they are low on booze or oxycontin. As...what? Therapy? Torture? Sleeping aid? You have a story to tell. Please do. |
| Tim_in_N_FL (Florida) | Posted: Feb 04, 2009 - 14:46 gopre wrote: it's about her father's final days of suffering from cancer. she's telling him to 'trouble me' with your pain. thanks, natalie, for these words. Yes, I agree. Great tune and lyrics. In a similar vein, listen to their "Our Time In Eden" CD sometime paying particular attention to the song "Gold Rush Brides" in which she talks about the lives of these women. Each of these songs paint quite a picture for the listener who opens his / her ears and mind to enjoy it... http://www.radioparadise.com/rp2-content.php?name=songinfo&song_id=34283 |
| jameyp (New York via Austin) | Posted: Feb 04, 2009 - 14:43 i used to fall asleep listening to this on my walkman all the time as a gradeschooler...  |
| orpheus (pacific northwest, finally!!!) | Posted: Oct 01, 2008 - 09:04 Kittee wrote: I love Nat, but this song, not so much. Carnival or Ophelia much better etc. overwrought "ophelia" over this gem? puh-leeze!  |
| Kittee (NC) | Posted: Oct 01, 2008 - 07:32 I love Nat, but this song, not so much. Carnival or Ophelia much better etc. |
| Excelsior | Posted: Sep 15, 2008 - 18:18  |
| Papernapkin (Mountain View, CA) | Posted: Jun 28, 2008 - 13:30 al9009 wrote: I don't understand the grief that Natalie gets on here...Is it cos she is popular and successful and those obscurists don't like that?
By obscurists I mean those who don't like a singer, musician because they become popular and successful...and like to like bands that no-one else has heard of. Nat is quality. And you really know it! No, it's more like she has an annoying, nasal, affected sound to her voice as if everything were heartfelt and touching but with no real soul. Combine that with being over-played and people will naturally complain. |
| gandalfbmg (3 mi from Paradise (Missouri)) | Posted: May 12, 2008 - 14:11 al9009 wrote: I don't understand the grief that Natalie gets on here...Is it cos she is popular and successful and those obscurists don't like that?
By obscurists I mean those who don't like a singer, musician because they become popular and successful...and like to like bands that no-one else has heard of. Nat is quality. And you really know it! Finally, a name for it!!! So obvious too. |
| TheLoneIguana (Central California) | Posted: Jan 07, 2008 - 16:39 queenjill wrote: I think "merdeoiseaux" would be French for "shit birds." Interesting name for a sheep.
But a great name for a French punk band. |
| xc_para_puravida | Posted: Jan 07, 2008 - 16:22 Truly tender. |
| Wallis (Columbus, OH) | Posted: Nov 21, 2007 - 08:13 Got to see them live post-Natalie, and I thought they were quite good-much more of a "band" and less of a backing mechanism for the singer. And they, dare I say, sort of "rocked". And this from a guy who digs Merzbow. |
| al9009 (Uttoxeter. England.) | Posted: Oct 05, 2007 - 11:16 I don't understand the grief that Natalie gets on here...Is it cos she is popular and successful and those obscurists don't like that? By obscurists I mean those who don't like a singer, musician because they become popular and successful...and like to like bands that no-one else has heard of. Nat is quality. And you really know it! |
| ndad47 | Posted: Oct 05, 2007 - 11:11 i like to sing this to addicts when they are low on booze or oxycontin. |
| RobK (Leucadia, CA) | Posted: Aug 19, 2007 - 10:16 gForce wrote: A nice track from when her music was still engaging and before her voice deteriorated.
Ouch. TerryS wrote: Do you ever wish she could finish just one word with an upwards inflexion?
You mean like, "underneath this burden when MY..."? |
| stickers11 (Burnaby, BC) | Posted: Aug 03, 2007 - 14:24 This song makes her sound hot! |
| gopre | Posted: Jul 18, 2007 - 15:40 it's about her father's final days of suffering from cancer. she's telling him to 'trouble me' with your pain. thanks, natalie, for these words. |
| bokey (Wastin' away in Filialdutyville) | Posted: Jun 17, 2007 - 05:58 kazuma wrote: Normally I can't stand Natalie's sheeplike trilling, but this song is an exception. Pretty nice.
Same here |
| maxmox (Broome, Western Australia) | Posted: May 01, 2007 - 08:14 queenjill wrote: I think "merdeoiseaux" would be French for "shit birds." Interesting name for a sheep.
Any bids on maniac shit birds? |
| queenjill (CA) | Posted: Feb 27, 2007 - 12:08 Hannio wrote: We have a breed of sheep over here that makes birdlike trilling noises. I guess you have never heard of them. The breed is called merdeoiseaux or something like that. I think "merdeoiseaux" would be French for "shit birds." Interesting name for a sheep. |
| meloman (Warsaw, Poland) | Posted: Dec 16, 2006 - 14:44 lmic wrote: In the spirit the holiday season, can I please have this line? It's yours to use. Call me Santa! |
| lmic (Uniondale, NY) | Posted: Dec 15, 2006 - 15:05 meloman wrote: Okay, I bow to your obviously greater knowledge of sheep. In the spirit the holiday season, can I please have this line? |
| meloman (Warsaw, Poland) | Posted: Dec 15, 2006 - 14:36 Hannio wrote: We have a breed of sheep over here that makes birdlike trilling noises. I guess you have never heard of them. The breed is called merdeoiseaux or something like that. There's a huge roundup every year and a sheep drive up to Ft Worth. The trilling is so deafening the cowboys, er, sheepboys that is, have to wear ear muffs made of puppy pelts. Okay, I bow to your obviously greater knowledge of sheep. We of course have them here in Poland, but mostly down south in the mountains. But what's that about using puppy pelts to make ear muffs?! Christ! You sure as hell burst my Brokeback (Mt.) bubble with that one! |
| suddenchad | Posted: Dec 15, 2006 - 14:26 jameyp wrote: one of their best-- i used to fall asleep to this album as a kid... great song.
On the weekend of a milestone birthday I'd rather not mention, this comment makes me feel 8,000 years old. |
| lmic (Uniondale, NY) | Posted: Dec 15, 2006 - 14:19 meloman wrote: This song is not an exception, just another example of what a great artist Natalie Merchant is.
So totally agree. |
| Hannio (Austin, TX) | Posted: Nov 16, 2006 - 09:27 meloman wrote: I thought someone from Texas would know that it's birds that trill, as in make a warbling sound, and that sheep bleat. We have a breed of sheep over here that makes birdlike trilling noises. I guess you have never heard of them. The breed is called merdeoiseaux or something like that. There's a huge roundup every year and a sheep drive up to Ft Worth. The trilling is so deafening the cowboys, er, sheepboys that is, have to wear ear muffs made of puppy pelts. |
| cordelia (Midwest, USA) | Posted: Oct 03, 2006 - 11:12 mfassett wrote: LOVE this song... I really like a lot of their earlier stuff, though I don't dig her much solo.
I agree. I don't think either the band or Merchant were as good on their own as they were with each other. |
| basilandroses (San Diego California) | Posted: Jul 07, 2006 - 15:36 My love of this song is due in large part to the video.....I found it recently on aolmusic (or yahoo music) and was jsut as entranced today as I was when I first saw it on MTV eons ago. (for those who can't remember Natalie visited and old woman (grandmother?) and took her for ride on her bike) Sure it's sentimental and syrupy, but those images reminded me so much of my grandmother, and her friends - a group of large German women who where all my "Tante's" (Aunties) - that I immediately took to that video. Thanks Natalie for helping me remember some really kewl ladies..... |
| meloman (Warsaw, Poland) | Posted: Jul 07, 2006 - 13:55 kazuma wrote: Normally I can't stand Natalie's sheeplike trilling, but this song is an exception. Pretty nice.
I thought someone from Texas would know that it's birds that trill, as in make a warbling sound, and that sheep bleat. |
| meloman (Warsaw, Poland) | Posted: Jul 07, 2006 - 13:51 This song is not an exception, just another example of what a great artist Natalie Merchant is. |
| witchchild (Right Behind You) | Posted: Jul 07, 2006 - 13:50 Awesome! Love her voice, Love the lyrics, 9/10!  |
| jameyp (New York) | Posted: May 24, 2006 - 14:39 one of their best-- i used to fall asleep to this album as a kid... great song. |
| TerryS (The other SW) | Posted: May 24, 2006 - 14:17 Do you ever wish she could finish just one word with an upwards inflexion? |
| flyfree (West Egg) | Posted: May 24, 2006 - 14:14 mfassett wrote: LOVE this song... I really like a lot of their earlier stuff, though I don't dig her much solo.
Me too! It's the message...inviting pain, and discomfort, because you care about someone else. So nuanced, and yet tailored into a pretty pop song. |
| mfassett (Redwood City, CA) | Posted: Apr 09, 2006 - 18:08 LOVE this song... I really like a lot of their earlier stuff, though I don't dig her much solo. |
| Jacksonstat (Columbus OH) | Posted: Mar 10, 2006 - 07:33 kazuma wrote: Normally I can't stand Natalie's sheeplike trilling, but this song is an exception. Pretty nice.
Ditto kazuma. |
| radiomao (Phoenix, AZ) | Posted: Dec 12, 2005 - 16:48 Can't stand her singing...she sounds like she can't make her lips meet...y'know, like she's sings with her teeth bared all the time...like Louis-Armstrong-mouth...and this song had extra beats and/or bars in too many of the lines...not a strong enough meter for me. |
| dctrpunda (the thin line of here.) | Posted: Dec 12, 2005 - 16:40 The backup vocals bring images of Stevie Nicks for some reason. |
| kazuma (Austin, TX) | Posted: Oct 29, 2005 - 20:08 Normally I can't stand Natalie's sheeplike trilling, but this song is an exception. Pretty nice. |
| ChardRemains | Posted: Sep 30, 2005 - 11:23 gForce wrote: A nice track from when her music was still engaging and before her voice deteriorated. It's the band. And IMHO, they're all pretty much past it here.
How about "Tension Makes a Tangle" from The Wishing Chair? |
| Roverfish (Tucson, AZ - Thanks for visiting, please drive through!) | Posted: Aug 31, 2005 - 20:57 radiojunkie wrote: I love this song -- absolutely love it.
Unfortunately, this and "Wonder" are the only Natalie vocals I can stomach. I don't know why -- she just impresses me as incredibly pretentious and self-important sounding on everything else. Per usual, I agree with you, radiojunkie. There's a very select few of Natalie Merchant songs I can stomach, and this is one of them. Excellent tune. |
| dolfan (Kingsland, Ga./Jacksonville, FL) | Posted: Jun 19, 2005 - 04:41 One of the sweetest videos ever made. I wish more "troubled" young people were hearing this song and turning to the right people for help...people who could offer the sentiments in this song's lyrics. "Why let your shoulders bend underneath your burden when my back is sturdy and strong? Trouble me...Trust is what I'm offering."  |
| radiojunkie (a sleepy bordertown (NY/CT)) | Posted: Mar 22, 2005 - 22:55 I love this song -- absolutely love it. Unfortunately, this and "Wonder" are the only Natalie vocals I can stomach. I don't know why -- she just impresses me as incredibly pretentious and self-important sounding on everything else. |
| gForce (Bangor ME) | Posted: Mar 08, 2005 - 05:26 A nice track from when her music was still engaging and before her voice deteriorated. |
| ANNE_MARIE (Transformationville) | Posted: Feb 21, 2005 - 10:48 her music speaks volumes to me...thanks Natalie! great album! :goodvibes: |
| trekhead | Posted: Feb 21, 2005 - 10:45 "...if you trouble me-E-e-E-e-E." |
| BillG (Paradise, CA) | Posted: Feb 06, 2005 - 08:46 Skeletor wrote: First time for this song? Funny, seems like I've heard this song here many times before?
We've always played the version from the MTV Unplugged CD. This is the original studio version. |