Blind Man's Zoo is 10,000 Maniacs' fourth studio album, released in 1989. The album contains songs addressing social issues and current events prior to and during the production of the album. The song "Trouble Me", the album's first single to be released, was written as dedication to the lead singer Natalie Merchant's father. The song charted in the United States and the United Kingdom and became a minor hit. "Eat for Two", a song about teenage pregnancy, also hit the music charts. The album has received mixed reception. It reached number thirteen in the Billboard Top 200 chart and number eighteen in the UK Albums Chart.

The title of the album Blind Man's Zoo was inspired by a fictional game from a children's book. The album was recorded in Dreamland Recording Studio, converted from a rustic church in .

A ballad "Trouble Me", co-written by Dennis Drew and Natalie Merchant, was the first released single of the album. The song was written for Merchant's father who was hospitalized at the time. Gospel singer Jevetta Steele provided the background vocals for the song. The music video of "Trouble Me" was produced, containing outdoor scenes. Merchant caught a common cold during the filming.

Other songs were inspired by social issues and events before the album was produced, despite Merchant's limited knowledge on politics. "Eat for Two" tackles teenage pregnancy and centers on a teenage girl who is five months pregnant. Merchant did not intend the song to be a "pro-life" message as the song does not address abortion. For the song, Rob Buck played the guitar; Jerome Augustyniak, percussion. The song and "You Happy Puppet" were commercially released as singles.

"The Big Parade" concerns a Vietnam War veteran and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C. "Please Forgive Us" concerns the US intervention on Central America, especially the Iran-Contra affair. "Hateful Hate" concerns the European colonisation of Africa and racial tensions between the European descendants and native Africans. A song "Jubilee", tackling religious fanaticism, concerns a racist who burns down a dance hall where he witnesses an interracial relationship of a young black man and a white woman. "Dust Bowl" concerns the working class. "Poison in the Well" concerns a neighborhood suffering from effects of hazardous waste and refers to involvement of the Hooker Chemical Company from Buffalo, New York with the chemical waste site Love Canal, which resulted in multiple cases of cancer and infertilities.

...
Wikipedia