Chelsea Joy Wolfe was born in Roseville, California, and grew up in Sacramento. She is of Norwegian and German descent. Her father was in a country band and owned a home studio. By the age of 7, she had written her first poem and by the age of 9, she had written and recorded songs which she later described as "basically Casio-based gothy R&B songs."
Inspired by the dark state of the world and the strange connection between all things, she creates a unique musical blend of goth-folk, experimental rock and spiritual realm funeral songs. With influences ranging from the great minds of Ingmar Bergman and David Lynch to Soviet and end-times literature, her songs conjure visions of other dimensions, claustrophobic echo-rooms and parking garage cathedrals.
Wolfe has recorded eight full length studio albums: The Grime and the Glow, which was released on December 28th, 2010 on limited vinyl through Brooklyn’s Pendu Sound Recordings; Ἀποκάλυψις (pronounced “Apokalypsis”), which was released as a 12” LP on August 23rd, 2011; Unknown Rooms: a Collection of Acoustic Songs, which was released on October, 2012 through Sargent House; Pain Is Beauty, out September 3rd, 2013; Abyss, which was released August 7th, 2015; and Hiss Spun, out September 22nd, 2017; Birth of Violence which was released on September 13th, 2019; She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She which was released on February 9th, 2024.
16 Psyche
Chelsea Wolfe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Many moons
And that's the way I prefer it
I can′t, she said
I'd save you but I can't hide
I feel it crawl up my legsLet me wrap you up in these thighs
It gets me out of my head again
I can′t, she said
I′d save you but I can't love
16 Psyche
Coma tail quivering
Knew all along
I can′t, she said
I'd save you but I can′t
She said: I'd save you but the world′s bent
She said: I'd save you but I can't
In "16 Psyche," Chelsea Wolfe reflects on her tendency to seek emotional fulfillment in different partners and beds, thus "spending many moons" this way. Despite the emotional detachment that comes with her preference for variety, she insists that it is her preferred method of coping - "that's the way I prefer it." Nonetheless, she acknowledges that her detachment to one partner means she is unable to offer them the love and support they might need - "I'd save you, but I can't love."
The lyrics then introduce the eponymous asteroid - 16 Psyche - and describe its "coma tail quivering." The asteroid is named after the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros, in which Psyche represents the human soul searching for divine love. Psyche is warned not to look at Eros, and when she does, she is exiled from the divine realm. The strange beauty of 16 Psyche thus takes on a darker, more foreboding tone - it represents a futile quest for a love that is ultimately unattainable. The song concludes with the repeated refrain of "I'd save you, but I can't," a poignant expression of the limitations of human love.
Overall, "16 Psyche" is a haunting meditation on the human experience of love, desire, and emotional distance.
Line by Line Meaning
I've spent, in different beds
Many moons
And that's the way I prefer it
I have slept in many different beds for long periods of time and that's the way I like it.
I can't, she said
I'd save you but I can't hide
I am unable to protect you because I cannot hide.
I feel it crawl up my legs
Let me wrap you up in these thighs
It gets me out of my head again
I experience a sensation crawling up my legs and I find relief by wrapping my thighs around you, which helps me to clear my mind.
I can't, she said
I'd save you but I can't love
Although I want to save you, I am incapable of loving you.
16 Psyche
Coma tail quivering
Knew all along
I knew all along that the celestial body called 16 Psyche would have a quivering coma tail.
I can't, she said
I'd save you but I can't
She said: I'd save you but the world's bent
She said: I'd save you but I can't
Despite my desire to help you, I am unable to do so because the world we live in is corrupt and broken.
Writer(s): Chelsea Joy Wolfe
Contributed by Colton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@herbalitoo
[Verse 1]
I've spent, In different beds
Many moons
And that's the way I prefer it
[Chorus 1]
I can't
She said, I'd save you but I can't Hide
[Verse 2]
I feel it crawl up my legs
Let me wrap you up in these thighs
It gets me out of my head again
[Chorus 2]
I can't
She said, I'd save you but I can't love
[Bridge]
16 Psyche
Coma tail quivering
Knew all along
[Chorus 3]
I can't
She said, I'd save you but I can't
She said, I'd save you but the world's bent
She said, I'd save you but I can't
@RaveNationMusic
help i just can’t stop replaying this
@miiiserable
None of us can bro
@lauralatge9811
Haha 3 years later I still can't
@sebastranger1734
Me neither
@Poketoezzzz
Me to
@anthoniomcguapo9097
@@samberfpppo1014 if you weren't an idiot and understood English, you'd realize there's nothing witchcrafty about this. Because she's wearing all black this is witchcraft? Take your meds boomer
@marioandres4878
I just had an incredible experience with this album. I listened to it today, for the very first time. I had been having anxiety crisis all week. This morning I felt exhausted and just sick of everything. And then I decided to play the album. The first thing I noticed was that the songs were very calming and soothing. And I said “what?”. I mean, the music is very loud, very intense and has a lot of feeling into it. It felt like a raging sea with a colossal storm over it. But…. Chelsea’s voice was the captain of a strong boat that was enduring that storm. It was her voice in the middle of this hell that gave me relief and strength. I started to feel that no matter how terrible my mind is… I was going endure it.
An then I got home and read this about Hiss Spun in Wikipedia: “In an interview for Noisey, Wolfe explained that the album's topics deal with her confronting various health issues: "I deal with extreme anxiety that gets exacerbated by bouts of insomnia [...] I’m constantly trying to find ways to calm down… That has manifested into addiction at times [and] I carried a lot of that into this record, especially on '16 Psyche' and 'Spun'.”
Well, you just gotta lover Chelsea Wolfe. Her power goes beyond.
@dannymerlier
I deal with anxiety and definitely listening to this music doesn’t help but I just love her😅💕
@OfficialMold
I get hit by these unexpected spirals where I just start going downhill and downhill fast. I have this CD in my car. A few dozen miles, a few songs, and maybe (probably) some crying later and I feel exhausted but calm and solid.
She's seriously, seriously incredible!
@SebDan14
same af i feel like chelseas music "cures" my anxiety in some way. She said this album is about stability in chaos. So it makes sense.