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 seven 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[7i] which was released on September 13th, 2019.
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 legs
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
@Nameless_333
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
@JasonTopo
Chelsea Wolfe needs to play the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks.
@Travelhead7598
simple death would be a perfect fit
@faustoarellano2416
wow, just perfect
@verminj
Travelhead7598 first song I'd think of