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.

Roots
Devendra Banhart Lyrics

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When the roots of the tree
Are as cold as can be
When the wind and the sea
Are the moth and the bee
When the rays of the sun
Lick your skin
With its tongue
And the grass with its green

And the grass with its green
And the shine with its sheen
And the shine with its sheen
And the trains with their tracks
And the spines with their backs
And your sway with its slow
And the wind with its blow
And your scream with its sound
I don't play rock and roll
And the people with their lungs
And the people with their paws
If the sky were a stone

Made of lips, made of bones
Count my teeth, keep the time

Overall Meaning

This song, "Roots," by Devendra Banhart appears to be a poem about the beauty and pain of life, and the way the natural world can be both soothing and destructive. The opening lines describe a tree with roots that are "as cold as can be," and the wind and sea acting like moths and bees - this could be interpreted as a statement about the inevitability of death and decay, and the way that nature both creates and destroys. The rays of the sun licking your skin is a very pleasant image but juxtaposed with a world that is slowly eroding makes it seem sinister.

The song then goes on to describe various aspects of nature and the world, from grass and its green, shine and its sheen, trains on their tracks and spines with their backs. The slow sway, the wind's blow, and the scream's sound are all painted beautifully here. The repeated refrain of "I don't play rock and roll" seems to signify that the singer is not here to distract from the natural world, he is just a messenger from it. The final lines of the song, "count my teeth, keep the time," could be interpreted as a final statement about the ephemeral nature of life - our teeth will decay, we will die, but time keeps moving forward without any regard for us.

Line by Line Meaning