Marc Martel is one of those guys for whom I have the greatest of respect. He is talented beyond the level of many in the music industry and has made music with a diverse group of people. This Christmas, I am glad to see him making music with Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. They have put together a Christmas album and are following it up with a limited tour in support of the album.
Of course, Martel has made music with many other artists including Jason Gray, Buddy Greene, Plumb, Scott Mulvahill, and Ron Block of Alison Krauss & Union Station. But beyond collaboration and Christmas music, Marc Martel was formerly the front man for CCM band downhere and leads his own Ultimate Queen Celebration, where he impersonates Freddie Mercury with great panache.
His first solo album: Impersonator contains the following title song. The entire album is filled with great original songs that speak of life on the road and the challenges of sounding like (and even looking like) another famous singer. Perhaps the most tragic song on the album is this title song. In it, he recognizes the value of impersonation but also laments that his own voice and personality gets lost in the music. And he finds himself saying that, “you would not have me any other way.” Read and listen to the words below.
Marc Martel – Impersonator
I wonder if my own eyes would recognize
Whatever I become when I live your lies
I should’ve made a break, for the fire escape – warning signs I didn’t take
And all the things you bought – just to break
But I am the impersonator
You can be the reason for my insanity
I am the impersonator
I give you everything you want from me
Whatever makes you happy
What’s done is done, this is what I become
And now you would not have me any other way – so why stay?
Let me go on, like nothing’s wrong, just to keep you holding on
A flash before my eyes as I fade away – and I fade away
I am the impersonator
You can be the reason for my insanity
I am the impersonator
I give you everything you want from me
Whatever makes you happy
And so I, I put on my show with my life
I wear the weight of my disguise, to drown out the silence
So you never read the signs
I lose myself to have you, and you don’t even have a clue
I am the shadow, who keeps you in the light
And I am the impersonator
You can be the reason for my insanity
I am the impersonator
I give you anything you want from me, but you know
I’ll never make you happy
Whatever makes you happy.
Songwriters: John Randall Fields / Lily Kershaw / Marc Martel; © Strawberrius Music.