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.
Kings
Chelsea Wolfe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somehow we, we lost our way
We are running away
Lost upon the lonesome winds
The voice of god despairing him
Then crept into the severed heads
Of dreams we have forgotten and
Lost upon the rotted minds
Lost upon the rotted hearts
Of those who forgotten us
Our frozen wills have melted down
Into nothing they can help
Into nothing
All is nothing
All is done
All is over
The lyrics in Chelsea Wolfe's song "Kings" appear to describe a world that has lost its leaders, and the people within it are left aimlessly wandering, lost and forgotten. The opening lines "Kings have all lost their heads" could be interpreted as the world's leaders being overthrown or forfeiting their power, which has resulted in their failure to lead their individual nations. Additionally, the line "Somehow we, we lost our way" could be the people's realization that they too have failed to show the initiative necessary to govern themselves, which has led to a society that is struggling to survive.
The chorus in the song "We are running away" could be taken as the people attempting to flee the chaos that surrounds them and escape the reality of the situation. The image of being "lost upon the lonesome winds" further emphasizes the feeling of aimlessness and being out of control. The line "The voice of god despairing him" could suggest that the people have lost their faith and their reliance on divine assistance.
The lyrics in the song seem to suggest a sense of hopelessness, despair, and finality, as is evidenced by the final line: "All is done, all is over." However, multiple interpretations of the song can be imagined, and these may be influenced by individual perspective, experiences, and understanding of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Kings have all lost their heads
The powerful people have lost their minds and their grip on reality.
Somehow we, we lost our way
We have lost our sense of direction and purpose.
We are running away
We are trying to escape from something or someone.
Lost upon the lonesome winds
We are lost and alone, with no clear direction or guidance.
The voice of god despairing him
We are feeling hopeless and abandoned, as if even God has given up on us.
Then crept into the severed heads
These feelings of despair have taken hold of us, affecting our thoughts and actions.
Of dreams we have forgotten and
We have abandoned our hopes and aspirations.
Lost upon the rotted minds
Our thoughts and beliefs have become decayed and corrupted.
Of unjust fools who've forgotten
The people in power have become foolish and unjust, and have forgotten about us.
Lost upon the rotted hearts
Our emotions have also become corrupted and decayed.
Of those who forgotten us
The people in power have abandoned and ignored us.
Our frozen wills have melted down
Our once-strong resolve has weakened or disappeared completely.
Into nothing they can help
We are now unable to change our situation or improve our lives.
Into nothing
We are left with nothing and no hope of improving our situation.
All is nothing
Everything has lost its meaning and value.
All is done
There is nothing left to do or hope for.
All is over
The situation is hopeless and there is no chance of recovery.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ryshenton
Chelsea Wolfe has such pretty eyes
@forgetfulguy1305
Surreal. Majestic.
Wouldn't expect anything less. Bravo, Chelsea and band.
@dollhousemassacre5490
Macabre, haunting, beautiful... <3
@user-it1iq6hr8e
wonderful song and video
@giovannideldio
Chelsea, this song, and video are beautiful!
@lashtal
Of her most underrated songs, obviously.
@harmonyrios1
This piece, it's.. brobdingnagian. Sounds to me the soundtrack of chaos, disaster & death. Sound of a thousand bombs dropping. Never has a video expressed a song so perfectly. Imagery is so powerful, grand to say the least.
@michyrock1
Beautiful and haunting as always, but I miss the awesome outro of the studio version
@JBValr
amazing - lovely dark, and somewhat lifting
@thenagainthesameoldstory8399
Macabre, haunting, jolynn...