Biografia

Her childhood hero was Leonardo Da Vinci. She is able to write left-handed, upside-down and backwards, as da Vinci did.

Natalie Merchant was the first musical guest to be asked back by David Letterman to perform for a second night in a row.

Her favourite song by 10,000 Maniacs is "Dust Bowl".

Took piano and voice lessons.

Natalie has also contributed to a colouring book for Crayola. The book was based on the lyrics of "Come Take a Trip in My Airship".

I've found out how overwhelming the media is and the way it drills things into your head, it's almost like a mind control. If I could control prople's minds, I'd like to put something useful in.

I don't want to live in a culture of despair. I'd like to live in a culture of hope.

People always tell me that my live shows differ greatly from my albums, which are a little more meticulous and subdued. People come see me live, and I'm cracking jokes and dancing around like a savage, and it's truly unpredictable. There should be a record of that.

A lot of things are personal experiences disguised as other people's experiences. I can't remove the autobiographical slant from the things I write. You always bring yourself into what you're writing.

Britain was the first place I ever travelled outside the United States so when I arrived in London at the age of 19, everything was exciting - the sense of history and all these cute guys with British accents.