St Vincent – aka musician Annie Erin Clark – performed ‘Surgeon’, a song inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s writings, now available as a free download from her forthcoming album, Strange Mercy, at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday, reports the Times:
‘St. Vincent ended her concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday night with an emotionally complicated plea. “Best, finest surgeon,” she sang coolly, fingers skittering along the neck of her guitar. “Come cut me open.”
The song was “Surgeon,” with lyrics inspired by an entry in Marilyn Monroe’s diary, and St. Vincent made its queasy hunger feel palpable, even, somehow, during the mounting vulgarity of the synth-guitar solo that she used as a coda.
Surgery isn’t a bad metaphor for the process by which St. Vincent, a k a Annie Clark, creates her music. But she’s rarely if ever the one being operated on. What she does is traumatic but controlled, unsentimental but not uncaring. She can seem clinical, but she knows what she’s doing in there.’
The song is based on a piece published in Fragments, the 2010 collection of Marilyn’s writing. It was written on Waldorf-Astoria stationary (MM lived at the hotel in 1955.)
This may be an account of a dream. It is filled with characters from Marilyn’s life at the time – Lee Strasberg, Arthur Miller, Milton Greene, Dr Hohenberg, the Rostens – and suggests Marilyn’s intense fear of not living up to their expectations.
Like many of Marilyn’s undefined pieces, it has the quality of a prose poem. The bolded parts denote spelling anomalies, while the crossings-out are her own.
Best finest surgeon – Strasberg
waitsto cut me open which I don’t mind since Dr Hhas prepared me – given me anesthetic
and has also diagnosed the case and
agrees with what has to be done –
an operation – to bring myself back to
life and to cure me of this terrible dis-ease
whatever the hell it is –
Arthur is the only one waiting in the outer
room – worrying and hoping operation successful
for many reasons – for myself – for his play and
for himself indirectly
Hedda – concerned – keeps calling on phone during
operation – Norman – keeps stopping by hospital to
see if I’m okay but mostly to comfort Art
who is so worried –
Milton calls from office with lots of room
and everything in good taste – and is conducting
business in a new way with style – and music
is playing and he is relaxed and enjoying himself even if he
is very worried at the same time – there’s a camera
on his desk but he doesn’t take pictures anymore except
of great paintings.
Strasberg cuts me open after Dr. H gives me
anesthesia and tries in a medical way to comfort
me – everything in the room is white in fact but I
can’t even see anyone just white objects –
they cut me open – Strasberg with Hohenberg’s ass.
and there is absolutely nothing there – Strasberg is
deeply disappointed but more even – academically amazed
that he had made such a mistake. He thought there was going
to be so much – more than he had dreamed possible in
almost anyone but
instead there was absolutely nothing – devoid of
every human living feeling thing – the only thing
that came out was so finely cut sawdust – like
out of a raggedy ann doll – and the sawdust spills
all over the floor & table and Dr. H is puzzled
because suddenly she realizes that this is a
new type case
of puple. The patient (pupil – or student – I started to write) existing of complete emptinessStrasberg’s hopes & dreams for theater are fallen.
Dr H’s dreams and hopes for a permanent psychiatric cure
is given up – Arthur is disappointed – let down +
2 Replies to “St Vincent Inspired by Marilyn’s Writing”