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.
Pale on Pale
Chelsea Wolfe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When your hands are tied pale on pale and mind on mind
When your body is swollen with blood and ocean floor is swollen with sun
When the light in your eyes goes out for the last time
When your mind is open
"Pale on Pale" is a song by Chelsea Wolfe that explores the themes of mortality, helplessness, and uncertainty. The lyrics depict the moment of death when a person's physical and mental faculties fail them. The song begins with the line, "When the light in your eyes goes out for the last time," portraying the moment of final departure when a person's life force fades away. The second line, "When your hands are tied pale on pale and mind on mind," emphasizes the physical and mental helplessness that often accompanies the dying process.
The lyrics reflect on the body's frailty and the inevitability of death. The line, "When your body is swollen with blood, and ocean floor is swollen with sun" suggests the natural cycle of life and death that occurs in the living and non-living world. "Pale on Pale" also brings up the idea of spiritual transcendence as the mind opens up to the unknown. The lyrics communicate the sense of surrender that is required in the face of death and the uncertainty that accompanies it.
Line by Line Meaning
When the light in your eyes goes out for the last time
As you die and your soul departs, the light in your eyes fades away for the final time
When your hands are tied pale on pale and mind on mind
You are completely helpless and unable to act, your body and mind are weak and lifeless
When your body is swollen with blood and ocean floor is swollen with sun
Your physical form is filled with intense emotion, and the natural world around you is reacting in kind
When your mind is open
You have freed yourself from tension, unease and self-doubt, and your thoughts can finally flow freely
Contributed by Oliver M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Emilia Barc
Lyrics:
When the light in your eyes
Goes out for the last time
When your hands are tied
Pale on pale and mind on mind
When your body is swollen with blood
And ocean floor is swollen with sun
When the light in your eyes
Goes out for the last time
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
Aaron R. Walker
This song is a doorway to another realm. A chilling place of dark, arcane pleasures. After hearing it, it always takes me a few minutes to slide back to our somewhat stale reality.
Sofia Lilith
Only the best of music does this
Bellaenna Baratheon
agree
reeff
+Aaron R. Walker You sound like someone who thinks much like i do
Emilia Barc
Lyrics:
When the light in your eyes
Goes out for the last time
When your hands are tied
Pale on pale and mind on mind
When your body is swollen with blood
And ocean floor is swollen with sun
When the light in your eyes
Goes out for the last time
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
When your mind is open
RichBitchFromAnotherRealm
One of my favorite Chelsea Wolfe songs. And this album is amazing
Lexi
I love how her music has such a dark atmosphere. ♥ It's haunting but beautiful. She's simply brilliant.
moonstone
I went and saw her play on Friday and she was fucking incredible. The vocal mic at the show wasn't at a high enough volume though and she kept having to ask the tech guys to turn it up and I think she got a bit anxious because she left the stage at the end of the last song as the band finished up playing it. I've read that she suffers from stage fright, which she really shouldn't— she's absolutely transfixing onstage.
Ricardo Pires
Grande artista. O som de suas músicas hipnotiza.
Grant Marshall
A song about battling dark thoughts, facing them, and wanting to go on........