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.
Mer
Chelsea Wolfe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Faint dreams creeping, endless
Timeless, wasted fucking jaded
Destroy-demand, ending, craving, seething, teething, war. War.
Hands waving
Hands bleeding
How can you live with yourself?
Cities, countries, children hunting
Worn, wearing down, down
Hear, speak, breathe, eat, crave, pour, drink, need
Wake never fully ever
Shiver, shake
La mer haunted sexuality, curves, angles - charcoal to paper
Memory, history
Capsize-explain, express, stomach, take it out out out out out out out
How can you live with yourself?
The lyrics of Chelsea Wolfe's song 'Mer' are a bleak understanding of human nature and the different ways it manifests. The first two lines of the song depict a relationship that is empty, wasted, and futile. The next two lines are a portrayal of incessant nightmares that have no end but keep creeping up, making the person feel hopeless and restless. The word 'war' is repeated thrice, which could be an allusion to the internal struggle or the external chaos that never seems to end.
The next section of the song describes a society that is deeply flawed, where children are hunted, cities and countries are at war, and everything around us is gradually wearing us down. The repetition of verbs like hear, speak, breathe, eat, pour, drink, and need, creates a sense of urgency and desperation. The line 'Wake never fully ever' signifies that one can never be truly awake, or fully alive, as long as they are caught up in the struggles of life. The last section of the song uses the metaphor of the sea to express the haunting memories and dark desires that lie within us.
Overall, the lyrics of 'Mer' are an introspective look at different facets of human consciousness, and the struggles that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Hollow courtship, run-on, pointless
Empty pursuit lacking depth, aimlessly enduring with no purpose or goal
Faint dreams creeping, endless
Vague aspirations slowly approaching, boundless
Timeless, wasted fucking jaded
Exhausted and disenchanted, a sense of futility unchanged by time
Destroy-demand, ending, craving, seething, teething, war. War.
Urgently seeking destruction and conflict, yearning for an end to the struggle to the point of obsession
Hands waving
Arms moving in a gesture of greeting or farewell
Hands bleeding
Injury inflicted on the hands, possibly from violence or hard labor
How can you live with yourself?
A reproachful question questioning the morality and conscience of the addressed party
Cities, countries, children hunting
Pursuing and dominating in different localities even over the youth
Worn, wearing down, down
Exhausted and losing strength, progressively descending into weakness
Hear, speak, breathe, eat, crave, pour, drink, need
The essential acts of living and yearning for more
Wake never fully ever
Never reaching a full sense of wakefulness, always feeling incomplete
Shiver, shake
Trembling due to fear, anxiety, or physical stress
La mer haunted sexuality, curves, angles - charcoal to paper
Evoking a sense of eeriness that is associated with sensuality, the organic and the inorganic via the illustration media of charcoal and paper
Memory, history
Recollection and the past
Capsize-explain, express, stomach, take it out out out out out out out
Overturning and spilling out the emotions through explanation, written media, even physical discharge
Contributed by Reagan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@konjpeg
Lyrics:
Hollow courtship, run-on, pointless
Faint dreams creeping, endless
Timeless, wasted fucking jaded
Destroy-demand, ending, craving, seething, teething, war. War.
Hands waving
Hands bleeding
How can you live with yourself?
Cities, countries, children hunting
Worn, wearing down, down
Hear, speak, breathe, eat, crave, pour, drink, need
Wake never fully ever
Shiver, shake
La mer haunted sexuality, curves, angles - charcoal to paper
Memory, history
Capsize-explain, express, stomach, take it out out out out out out out
How can you live with yourself?
@user-pv4xf3es2n
I love the subtle use of creepy ambient noises in the background. You don't realize how much it adds to the production till you listen to it live.
@JasonTopo
this is how it all started for me.
@SuperMiley1994
henri crousteau Yea, same.
@potatopie2280
Me toooo
@lincolnhirschi2527
I hear ya there
@christofyre
actually gowon Nice.
I first heard her performing The Way We Used To on the Gorburger Show featuring the Mars Volta. It was so amazing I did a search for her and immediately found Demons from this albums. I’ve been madly in love ever since.
@burning_castles
same
@kevinhoward5857
Chelsea is the embodiment of gorgeousness. Her talent, intellect, uniqueness, beauty and her kind disposition are stunning. She will be known as one of the greatest artists of her generation. I wish I could hug this woman for all the hard times her beautiful music has gotten me through.
@divinefallfromgrace
Knowing humans in general, Chelsea probably won't get the recognition she deserves until she's been dead 40 years, like Nick Drake. I'd love to be wrong though!
@patrickcummins79
As an alcoholic, her lyrics of something that Roughly sounded like "stomach.. remove/take out..", Really Resonated with me. Those Lyrics, Personally speak to a Potential Problem, I might face, in the future, given my preferred drug of choice..
Thanks for letting me share, and Blessed Be.