Banhart is considered to have an eclectic style, with many of his songs seemingly following a stream-of-consciousness vein, being hard to decipher and non-literal. His music tends to consist of fairly simple guitar melodies with minimal other instrumentation, and his lyrical themes are often surreal and naturalistic. His involvement in the Los Angeles artist community is reflected in Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, released in September 2007. He gained some underground notoriety in New York for performing several of his early shows with underwear on his head for the duration of the performance.
Banhart's most recent tour of the United States saw him perform with his full band, which is currently known as Power Mineral. Power Mineral included Andy Cabic (Vetiver), Greg Rogove (Priestbird), Noah Georgeson, Luckey Remington, Pete Newsom, Otto Hauser (Vetiver, Currituck Co., Espers, Nick Castro), Kevin Barker (Currituck Co.), and others. The band claims to rechristen itself when a name comes to them, and has previously been known as Fried Hummingbird, Vagina Burglars, Hairy Fairy Band, Las Putas Locas, Stoner Boner, Spiritual Boner, Bummer Hummer, Brain Taint, Love Fart, Bathhouse Of The Winds, and First Woman Millionaire among other names.
Banhart was discovered by Michael Gira of Swans, who released his Oh Me Oh My... The Way the Day Goes by the Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming… album on his own Young God Records label in 2002. In 2005, Banhart (along with Andy Cabic and Revolver USA) created the Gnomonsong record label. In 2006 he helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties festival.
Banhart also was one of the younger musicians responsible for "rediscovering" the music of folksinger Vashti Bunyan. Bunyan is a guest vocalist on his album Rejoicing in the Hands.
'Your Fine Petting Duck'
Devendra Banhart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I don't really love him (No no no)
Give me that
Won't ya gimme gimme
Give me all your loving and I'll call you
And hope that you won't say
If he ever treats you bad
If he doesn't try his best
Please remember that I never tried at all
And if he makes you cry a lot
Please remember that with me you never stopped
I never held
On long enough
To let you go
Come back baby
I never really loved him
I'll take ya back
I never really loved him
If he don't give enough time
Please remember that I never gave you mine
If he doesn't have a dime
Please forget how hard I worked to get you lots
You, you always knew
But ya pushed it, baby
Yeah, ya pushed it, baby
You looked away
Come back baby
I never really loved him
I'll take ya back
I never really loved him
If he ever is untrue
Please remember I was too (And so much more so)
If he doesn't have a clue
Please forget how much I always had a few
And if he ever is unkind
At least he'll never change his mind
Not the way
I always did
And still will do
Als eine flamme reißt du
Du durch das essentialisieren universum
Inzwischen trinken wia
Unser glas de himmels abstinenz
Eines tages konnten
Wir unser locher
Wieder stopfen
Als eine flamme reißt du
Du durch das essentialisieren universum
Inzwischen trinken wia
Unser glas de himmels abstinenz
Yes I've been, yes I've been, yes I've been
I've been feeling it too.
Yes I've been, yes I've been, yes I've been
I've been feeling it too.
Yes I've been, yes I've been, yes I've been
I've been feeling it too.
I've been feeling it, I've been feeling it
I've been feeling it
Yes I've been feeling it too.
The lyrics to Devendra Banhart's 'Your Fine Petting Duck' convey a complex mix of remorse and longing from the singer to his former lover, who has since started a new relationship. The singer asks the woman to come back to him, confessing that he never really loved the man she is now with. He pleads with her to forget all of the ways he mistreated her when they were together, and to remember the good times they shared instead. He also warns her that her new partner may not measure up, and compares his own failures as a lover to the potential shortcomings of the other man.
Despite the singer's flawed character, the lyrics are imbued with a sense of vulnerability and honesty that is rare in love songs. Banhart's raw, emotional voice brings the words to life, conveying the nuance and complexity of the singer's feelings. The inclusion of a short verse in German ('Als eine flamme reißt du / Du durch das essentialisieren universum / Inzwischen trinken wia / Unser glas de himmels abstinenz') adds an additional layer of meaning to the song, hinting at a spiritual or metaphysical dimension to the singer's longing.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll take you back
I want to rekindle our relationship
'Cause I don't really love him (No no no)
I don't actually love the person I'm currently with
Give me that
Give me back your affection
Won't ya gimme gimme
I really want it, please give it to me
Give me all your loving and I'll call you
If you return my affection, I promise to call you
And hope that you won't say
I hope you won't reject me
If he ever treats you bad
If your current partner mistreats you
Please remember how much worse I treated you
I treated you even worse when we were together
If he doesn't try his best
If he isn't giving his all in the relationship
Please remember that I never tried at all
I didn't put any effort into our relationship
And if he makes you cry a lot
If he causes you to cry often
Please remember that with me you never stopped
When we were together, you cried even more frequently
I never held
I never held onto you
On long enough
For as long as I should have
To let you go
To let you move on from me
Come back baby
I want you to return to me
If he don't give enough time
If your current partner isn't spending enough time with you
Please remember that I never gave you mine
I didn't spend much time with you when we were together
If he doesn't have a dime
If your current partner isn't wealthy
Please forget how hard I worked to get you lots
I put in a lot of work to try to impress you financially
You, you always knew
You always knew how I felt
But ya pushed it, baby
But you tried to resist my advances
Yeah, ya pushed it, baby
You really pushed back when I tried to pursue you again
You looked away
You ignored me and didn't want to talk about it
If he ever is untrue
If your current partner cheats on you
Please remember I was too (And so much more so)
I was also unfaithful, and to an even greater extent
If he doesn't have a clue
If your current partner doesn't understand you
Please forget how much I always had a few
I always had a few shortcomings in our relationship
And if he ever is unkind
If your current partner is mean to you
At least he'll never change his mind
At least he won't be as indecisive as I was
Not the way
I never committed to you
I always did
I always wavered in my feelings for you
And still will do
But I still feel drawn to you
Yes I've been, yes I've been, yes I've been
I'm admitting to my feelings
I've been feeling it too.
I've been feeling the same emotions as you
I've been feeling it
I've been feeling a strong emotional connection
Yes I've been feeling it too.
I've been feeling the same emotions as you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEVENDRA BANHART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thais Nicols
on Mi Negrita
<3