Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a Venezuelan American singer-so… Read Full Bio ↴Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a Venezuelan American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. His first few records were released on the Young God Records label from New York City. His most recent CD was released by Nonesuch. He is one of the most popular artists to come out of the "New Weird America" movement, which includes performers such as Faun Fables, Viking Moses, Jack Rose, Jana Hunter, Arborea, The MV & EE Medicine Show, Currituck Co., Six Organs of Admittance, and The Royal We, among others. He also often joins the band known as Vetiver.

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.

Hatchet Wound
Devendra Banhart Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wanna sing a song and make her feel crazy
Make her forget she always forgets me
'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby

Yeah hatchet wound is driving me crazy
And a hatchet wound does truly amaze me
'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady

And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby

You know a hatchet's such a seasoned opponent
Can't wait to get the scars to show it
Gimme a chance and I'll blow it
But this one's for the dad bands that know it

Yeah hatchet would is driving me crazy
And a hatchet would does truly amaze me
'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
And lemme tell ya
Nothing but her hatchet can save me

Please don't look in my eyes
Don't want you to see the sorrow
Hope I don't want ya tonight
If I can't have ya tomorrow

I wanna sing a song and make her feel crazy
Make her forget she always forgets me

'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby

Overall Meaning

The song "Hatchet Wound" by Devendra Banhart is about a man who is infatuated with a woman who he sees as being out of his league, but he still desires her nonetheless. He wants to sing a song to make her feel crazy and to forget that she always forgets him. The lyrics "top of the shelf lady" and "low bottom bottle-fed baby" illustrate the social and economic distance between the two characters. The man sees himself as being from a lower class and less refined background compared to the woman who he admires.

The chorus of the song is, "Yeah hatchet wound is driving me crazy, and a hatchet wound does truly amaze me." It is unclear what the "hatchet wound" is referring to exactly, perhaps it is a metaphor for the emotional pain that he feels from being enamored with someone who he perceives as unattainable. The mention of scars suggests that it could be a physical wound, which adds an interesting layer of complexity to the song's meaning.

In the bridge of the song, the singer begs the woman not to look into his eyes so that she doesn't see the sorrow he feels. He also expresses his hope that he won't want her tonight if he can't have her tomorrow. This sentiment seems to suggest that he will try to let go of his feelings if he knows they will not be reciprocated.

Overall, the song portrays the complicated feelings of a man who is drawn to a woman he thinks he can't have. It touches on class disparities and the pain of unrequited love.

Line by Line Meaning

I wanna sing a song and make her feel crazy
I want to sing a song that will affect her emotionally.

Make her forget she always forgets me
I want her to forget that she always forgets me.

'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
She's an elite person worthy of admiration.

And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby
I'm an inexperienced person who hasn't had much self-discovery.

Yeah hatchet wound is driving me crazy
A sharp and devastating blow to my ego is disturbing me.

And a hatchet wound does truly amaze me
A significant personal injury is fascinating to me.

'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
She's an elite person worthy of admiration.

And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby
I'm an inexperienced person who hasn't had much self-discovery.

You know a hatchet's such a seasoned opponent
You could say that adversity is a well-experienced adversary.

Can't wait to get the scars to show it
I'm excited about getting wounded so that others can take my experience seriously.

Gimme a chance and I'll blow it
I have an inclination to mess things up for myself.

But this one's for the dad bands that know it
This message is for the experienced people who know what they're talking about.

Yeah hatchet wound is driving me crazy
A sharp and devastating blow to my ego is disturbing me.

And a hatchet would does truly amaze me
A significant personal injury is fascinating to me.

'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
She's an elite person worthy of admiration.

And lemme tell ya
Let me inform you.

Nothing but her hatchet can save me
Only experiencing a situation that emotionally affects me as she can save me.

Please don't look in my eyes
I don't want you to see my sadness.

Don't want you to see the sorrow
I don't want you to witness my pain.

Hope I don't want ya tonight
I hope I don't need you today.

If I can't have ya tomorrow
If I can't have you tomorrow, I'll be okay.

I wanna sing a song and make her feel crazy
I want to write and perform a musical piece to affect her emotionally.

Make her forget she always forgets me
I want her to forget that she has no recollection of me.

'Cause she's a top of the shelf lady
She's an elite person worthy of admiration.

And I'm a low bottom bottle fed baby
I'm an inexperienced person who hasn't had much self-discovery.

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEVENDRA BANHART

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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