So Spoke the Singer-songwriter

And so sang the singer-songwriter, too, as he strummed his ukulele , the miniature guitar-like instrument often associated with Hawaiian music, on stage at the 92nd St. Y Monday at 8pm:

"The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing

But, I love it when you read to me
And you, you can read me anything.

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental, some of it is just really dumb

But, I love it when you sing to me
And you, you can sing me anything."


So sang in his deep voice, Stephin Merritt, earnestly -- near tenderly. A stunning juxtaposition of low, thundering vocal sounds -- that somehow indicate seriousness -- and touching lyrics laced with sentimental turns of phrase.

Merritt has released albums under the band names the Magnetic Fields, the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, and the Future Bible Heroes. Rolling Stone and Spin magazines named the Magnetic Fields album, 69 Love Songs, released in 1999 -- the album containing the song quoted above -- one of the best albums of that year.

With lyrics that listeners find charged, it was ironic to hear Merritt all but refuse to acknowledge what others describe as a jarring quality that infuses his lyrics as he -- leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs out straight in front of him, the tips of his shoes sticking up, the pageboy cap atop his head slanting down -- sipped on the amber-colored liquid he had poured into his glass from a cylinder placed on the stout table between singer-songwriter and interviewer.

Merritt seemed reluctant to talk about the meaning behind the lyrics he'd penned --most of which had been scribbled into his little black book as he sat in dark corners of bars, he said. Almost a smidgen resentful -- or at least ready to flip the question back to the interviewer, author Rick Moody -- was Merritt if Moody probed too deeply for more telling responses.

Even when Moody mentioned that "Book of Love" was played at both his wedding as well as, coincidentally, the wedding of a Y staffer, instead of answering the question thereafter posed -- as to if knowing this was at all satisfying to Merritt as an artist -- the singer-songwriter instead turned the question back on Moody.

"Well, why did you decide to pick that song?" asked Merritt.

"It has tremendous emotional force," said Moody.

And, yet, a force that Merritt would all but deny, seemingly unwilling to admit or agree to the potency of his own lyrics -- even to Moody, a well-versed fan who in his introductory statement of the evening, spoke the accolade: "He's the finest singer-songwriter of my generation."

A dedication mirrored by the tenth-grade English teacher next to whom I happened to sit, who also sung Merritt's praises before the show began. The teacher had traveled from Queens with a group of high school students to attend the performance.

As to if lyrics can and should be printed on the page and distributed as pure poetry, Merritt said "No," that the two are different. Poetry makes its own music, he said, with the varied rhythm of its words; whereas, lyrics alone would not generate music and go best with the tunes that were written to accompany them.

When asked by an audience member which of his lyrics is most authentic, Merritt shuttered at hearing the word, asking the audience, "Authentic?"

"I make no effort to be authentic," said Merritt. "I am authentically singing. I am authentically playing the ukulele. But, with lyrics, I make no attempt to be authentic."

Some listeners, though, may disagree.

In the song, "Walking My Gargoyle" (a ditty which Merritt confessed was somewhat about walking his Chiwawa whose hair resembles a gargoyle) he sings "I found him on the church/he helps me with my research." There is a dry humor in the lyrics. Each new line leads to something unexpected, and thus is eagerly anticipated. I'd argue that this gargoyle idea looks suspiciously, dare I say, authentic.

When asked if his lyrics are autobiographical, Merritt said "No."

Interviewer Moody didn't let him off easy on that question, coming back around a few times as if to say, in a manner far more eloquent, "Come on, Guy, are you saying that none of this stuff is taken from your life experience?"

Still, Merritt said "No."

All in all, Merritt performed three songs. After Moody exhausted his list of questions, index cards with questions from the audience found their way to the stage.

Moody handed the last card to Merritt, rather than read it aloud to the crowd.

"You decide first before I read the question," he said.

Written on the card, said Merritt, was a song request.

A request that met with denial.

"I don't have the words with me to that song," said Merritt.

As such, the evening ended, with Merritt giving a slight thumb's up when it was announced that his work for the evening was officially complete. He seemed not to like the spotlight, what's more, being asked to explain the words he had composed.

Merritt suggests that the lyrics he writes are humdrum modern pop songs with inauthentic lyrics.

Yet, upon hearing him sing and watching him play music live, one cannot help but see a certain playful, boyish humor and a downright borderline-sappy tenderness seep out. However it may be explained or brushed away, open your eyes and ears. It's there. And, it's beautiful.

These things -- lyrics -- really require no explanation, though.

And perhaps, in the end, that's the real take-home message from Merritt. To explain the lyrics may only take something away from the experience of that lyric, of that song.

Your Girl About Town


**Tuesday night: Get your hot wings and pitchers of beer at Trivia Night at Gael Pub. I'll be there with my five-brain team "Electric Mayhem". Last week we ... well, D, did swimmingly. Starts at 9pm. Hint: Study the dart board on the wall a few minutes before the first round begins ;)


**Wednesday night: Rockefeller Tree Lighting. No, it's not just a Christmas thing -- it's a good-cheer, holiday say-g'day-to-your-neighbor, giving-spirit, Happy ChristmaHanuKwanza One-World thing. Plan to get there at 5pm if you want to see the action up close. Last year, we got there at 7pm only to watch from a propped-up TV screen.