"Kind & Generous" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

, released as the first single from her second studio album, '' Ophelia'' (1998). It became a radio hit in North America, peaking at number 18 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot 100 Airplay chart and number 19 in Canada. The song was not eligible to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 since it was not released as a commercial single.

Music video

The music video made for this song features

as part of a

traveling circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

and taking on many guises. The circus performers were actual performers from the local area and the little girl was the daughter of the proprietor- showperson.

Track listing

European HDCD single and Australian CD single # "Kind & Generous" (LP version) – 4:05 # "Frozen Charlotte" (LP version) – 5:25 # " Wonder" (LP version) – 4:26

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' Ophelia'' liner notes. Studios * Recorded at Talking Dwarf Studios (

Little Valley, New York Little Valley is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,672 at the 2020 census. The town is named after its local geographical setting, a relative comparison of two tributaries (the other being the neighbor ...

) * Mixed at Oceanway Recording Studios (Los Angeles) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering Studios ( Portland, Maine, US) Personnel * Natalie Merchant – writing, vocals *

Lokua Kanza Lokua Kanza (born April 1958) is a singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is known for his soulful, folksy sound. Biography Lokua Kanza was born Pascal Lokua Kanza in Bukavu in the province of Sud-Kivu, in the eastern p ...

– acoustic guitar *

Craig Ross Craig David Ross is an American guitarist best known for performing and recording with Lenny Kravitz. Early life Craig Ross was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He has two daughters named Mia and Devon with his first wife Anna. Sinc ...

– electric guitar *

Graham Maby Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952), is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. He has continued to record and tour with Jackson even w ...

– bass * George Laks –

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

Peter Yanowitz Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

– drums *

Joakim Lartey Joakim Lartey is a percussionist, born October 27, 1953, in Ghana. He has played with Singer Natalie Merchant, John Hall, and renowned jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette. Joakim studied at Prempeh College in Kumasi, Ghana and then at Vassar College ...

– percussion *

Jim Scott Jim or Jimmy Scott may refer to: Music * Jimmy Scott (1925–2014), American jazz vocalist * Jim Scott (producer), music engineer and producer * Jim Scott (musician), acoustic guitar player and songwriter * Jimmy Scott (songwriter), British-born mu ...

– mixing * Mike Scotella – mixing assistance * Todd Vos – engineering *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Use in media

The Orchestra of the Bronx performed an orchestral version of the song in a 2020 commercial for

Montefiore Health System Montefiore Medical Center is a premier academic medical center and the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is located in the Norwoo ...

that paid tribute to healthcare workers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

* ''Ophelia''at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind and Generous 1996 songs 1998 singles Elektra Records singles Natalie Merchant songs Songs written by Natalie Merchant