Mer Girl
Lyrics
I ran from my house
That cannot contain me
From the man that I cannot keep
From my mother who haunts me
Even though she's gone
From my daughter that never sleeps
I ran from the noise and the silence
From the traffic on the streets
I ran to the treetops
I ran to the sky
Out to the lake
Into the rain
That matted my hair
And soaked my shoes and skin
Hid my tears, hid my fears
I ran to the forest
I ran to the trees
I ran and I ran
I was looking for me
I ran past the churches
And the crooked old mailbox
Past the apple orchards
And the lady that never talks
Up into the hills
I ran to the cemetery
And held my breath
And thought about your death
I ran to the lake
Up into the hills
I ran and I ran
I'm looking there still
And I saw the crumbling tombstones
All forgotten names
I tasted the rain
I tasted my tears
I cursed the angels
I tasted my fears
And the ground gave way beneath my feet
And the earth took me in her arms
Leaves covered my face
Ants marched across my back
Black sky opened up
Blinding me
I ran to the forest
I ran to the trees
I ran and I ran
I was looking for me
I ran to the lakes
And up to the hill
I ran and I ran
I'm looking there still
And I smelt her burning flesh
Her rotting bones
Her decay
I ran and I ran
I'm still running away
Credits
Written by Madonna and William Orbit
Produced by Madonna and William Orbit
Percussion by Fergus Gerrand
Mer Girl contains an interpolation and certain elements from 'Space', performed by Gabor Szabo
Album
Song
Although the entire album is very emotional, Mer Girl is definitely the most vulnerable song of Ray Of Light. Madonna talks about her personal life, about 'the man I cannot keep', 'my mother who haunts me' and 'my daughter that never sleeps'. It's a beautiful, but haunting song that perfectly ends the album.
While the other songs grew bit by bit from the imagination of Madonna and Orbit, the production of Mer Girl went quite differently. The sample Orbit provided was so perfect that Madonna just started singing the text she had already written. With a few slight changes, the music fit the lyrics perfectly.
It was a B-single for The Power Of Good-Bye (US).
Tour
During the beautiful Geisha-part of the Drowned World Tour, Mo sang the haunting Mer Girl, walking around
on a jungle-like decor. The song was interrupted by Sky
Fits Heaven, where she had to fight against evil spirits.
When she conquered them, she continued Mer Girl. Singing 'And
the ground gave way beneath my feet', she kneeled down by a hole
in the ground with a shining red glow. Out of it came a shotgun,
which she used to shoot the last evil spirit on stage. During
her last three shows in LA she changed this part because of the
terroristic attacks on New York and Washington on September 11th.
Instead of shooting the dancer she puts down the gun and they
walk off stage together.