… Read Full Bio ↴Will Wiesenfeld AKA Baths was born in 1989, in Los Angeles, California.
Wiesenfield is a classically trained musician, and began learning the piano at the age of four “to compete with his brother”. By twelve he had “completely abandoned it,” but continual musical experimenting lead him to record his first piece of music at age fourteen. Under a previous moniker, [Post-foetus], he wrote four albums and three EPs. He also ventured into a more ambient style with side-project Geotic, a project which Irish magazine State.ie called “gorgeous”.
After adopting the name Baths, he released debut album Cerulean on independent record label Anticon. He recorded the entire album in two months from his bedroom. The BBC’s Mike Diver claims Baths’ nearest musical sound-a-like is chillwave musician Toro Y Moi. Pitchfork noted Baths’ influences, acts such as Björk and Flying Lotus, were “obvious” in his work.
Drowned in Sound noted Baths’ use of “unorthodox” sounds layered in and around the electronics, in particular “clicking pens, vocal samples, rustling blankets and scissor snaps”. British newspaper The Guardian’s Paul Lester commented he was reminded of “J Dilla playing around with the Pavement and Prince catalogues” while listening to the album. While a lot of his music is instrumental, it can occasionally incorporate vocals, most of them falsetto.
Cerulean was listed by the AV Club as the 21st best album of 2010. It made Pitchfork’s Album of the Year: Honorable Mention list.
Yeoman
Baths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Man, it's good to see you
This must be the airship
And are these your fellow crew?
Where are we headed?
I have nothing to do
Would you show me green
We'll follow where the moons move
You and I invent the ballroom
Placing pushpins on the star chart
Wellspring of adventure that is begging to embark
Let's move from the stateroom, through the galley
Deck level with stars like an endless sea
Flail me out onto the false dance floor
Take my face and show me what for
Your kiss is a swell
The feeling like a buoyant waltz
Look goddamnit, no, I don't know how
I love it though your steps are never gonna make a lick of sense
Left my life on the ground
To dance with you in the clouds
Forgot my life on the ground
Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now
Oh, yeoman
Let me bore you here under the Moon
Robed in the armillary room
Inert for all my years
And then fell into you
These routes that you just so ornately improvise
They're always wild
And I don't seem to mind
Put me to work, I want some value
I want big arms to put around you
To get lost in all your birthmarks
Wellspring of adventure that is begging to embark
Lets move from the stateroom, through the galley
Gliding in the dark on an endless sea
Catch my footing while I follow yours
Take my face and show me what for
Come, kiss me swell
The feeling like a buoyant waltz
Look, goddamnit, no, I don't know how
I love it though your steps are never gonna make a lick of sense
Left my life on the ground
To dance with you in the clouds
Forgot my life on the ground
Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now
Oh, yeoman
Stateroom through the galley
Gliding in the dark on an endless sea
Catch my footing while I follow yours
Take my face and show me what for
Come, kiss me swell
The feeling like a buoyant waltz
Look goddamnit, no, I don't know how
I love it though your steps are never gonna make a lick of sense
Left my life on the ground
To dance with you in the clouds
Forgot my life on the ground
Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now
Oh, yeoman
The song "Yeoman" by Baths tells the story of a protagonist who meets a yeoman on an airship and is entranced by their adventurous and spontaneous personality. The singer asks the yeoman to show them the colors green and blue, and they embark on a journey through the ship's stateroom and galley, catching their footing as they glide through space like an endless sea. The singer is lost in the yeoman's wild and ornately improvised routes and wants to be put to work and get lost in their birthmarks. The two then dance together in the clouds, forgetting their former lives on the ground.
The song's lyrics are poetic and metaphorical, describing the desire to explore and embrace the unknown in a romantic sense. The yeoman is presented as a free spirit, someone who creates their own path and leads others along with them. The song's imagery of galloping through space on an airship and dancing in the clouds emphasizes this sense of adventure and freedom. The singer is someone who may have felt stuck in their old life on the ground but has found a new sense of purpose and excitement in following the yeoman's lead.
Overall, "Yeoman" is a beautiful and whimsical song that captures the feeling of falling in love with someone's adventurous spirit and being willing to follow them anywhere.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, yeoman
Expressing excitement to see the yeoman.
Man, it's good to see you
Expressing happiness to see the yeoman.
This must be the airship
Observation of the environment.
And are these your fellow crew?
Questioning the yeoman about the airship crew.
Where are we headed?
Asking about the destination.
I have nothing to do
Feeling idle.
Would you show me green
Asking for guidance to see greenery.
And would you show me blue?
Asking for guidance to see the sky.
We'll follow where the moons move
Planning to follow the movement of the moons.
You and I invent the ballroom
Creating a dance floor in the imagination.
Placing pushpins on the star chart
Making plans for the journey.
Wellspring of adventure that is begging to embark
Opportunity to start a great adventure.
Let's move from the stateroom, through the galley
Suggesting to change location.
Deck level with stars like an endless sea
Describing the beauty of the stars.
Flail me out onto the false dance floor
Offering to dance.
Take my face and show me what for
Asking to lead the dance.
Your kiss is a swell
Describing the feeling of the kiss.
The feeling like a buoyant waltz
Describing the feeling of dancing.
Look goddamnit, no, I don't know how
Expressing confusion about the dance steps.
I love it though your steps are never gonna make a lick of sense
Enjoying the dance regardless of the steps not making sense.
Left my life on the ground
Leaving behind the past.
To dance with you in the clouds
Metaphorically dancing in the clouds.
Forgot my life on the ground
Not dwelling in the past.
Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now
Acknowledging being far from the starting point.
Let me bore you here under the Moon
Asking for an audience to tell a story.
Robed in the armillary room
Describing the environment.
Inert for all my years
Describing past inactivity.
And then fell into you
Metaphorically falling in love.
These routes that you just so ornately improvise
Praising the yeoman's improvisation skills.
They're always wild
Describing the spontaneous routes.
And I don't seem to mind
Not being bothered by the wild routes.
Put me to work, I want some value
Asking for something to do.
I want big arms to put around you
Expressing affection for the yeoman.
Catch my footing while I follow yours
Following the yeoman's lead.
Come, kiss me swell
Inviting the yeoman for another kiss.
Left my life on the ground
Leaving behind the past.
To dance with you in the clouds
Metaphorically dancing in the clouds.
Forgot my life on the ground
Not dwelling in the past.
Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now
Acknowledging being far from the starting point.
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: William Boris Wiesenfeld
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Replicant Roy
Will's mastering in his records is really something, this sounds like a city sized bubblegum swallowing buildings & bursting into multiple directions.
CouveTJ
Well put, man. Like, I can't describe it any better than that lol. This comment "wins the day" or whatever.
Pratyashi
Yeezus Shuttlesworth haha. Wow.
Aaron Oliver
This song makes me feel nostalgic for something I've never experienced
GaiaDarko
This song feels like a perfectly balanced mix between the overall style in Obsidian and the overall style in Cerulean
Tom Tyler
This is my favorite Baths song. Very excited to hear more like this.
SocietyKilledTheUnicorn
Over "earth death" or even "animals"?????
scottlippittmusic
Super inspiring. Thanks for showing me this side of electronic music. The way you bathe emotion into the otherwise robotic sounds is outstanding! Best electronic music there is!
JZ
10 sec into the video and I already have a big smile on my face
Rayan
Baths do this with the peoples