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.
Saved
Devendra Banhart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or help me see the way you treat me.
But I do need somebody to help me say
It's time to walk away (Alright, okay)
Too many times
Too many times
Too many times
You changed your mind
You changed your mind
You changed your mind
But I never did change mine
Still I was saved by the fire
Singing its song in my heart
That hypnotized all the demons
And tore them apart
But you make them all come back
You make them all return
You're so good at that
And I will never learn
No I never will (I never will, baby)
Well I don't need nobody to heal my pride
Cause I'm playing dead inside
But I do need somebody
To come wake me up, shake me up
Help me to stand up, stand up
You put me down
You cut me down
You turned me down
And I still stick around
You tame my soul
Swallowed me whole
I lost control
And I still couldn't let you go
But I was saved by the fire
That was burning deep inside of myself
I was a knave to desire
But I finally got a little bit of help
You ripped out my tongue
You couldn't trust me with that
You hid your trust fund
I wouldn't a judged you for that
You made me feel dumb
Well I ain't new to that
I must-a treated you wrong
And now you're treating me wrong right back
Two many times, three many times, four many times
I'm about to crack
Eight many times, nine many times
Too many times
I lost track
Still yes, I was saved by the fire
Burning deep inside my soul
Yeah I was saved by the fire
Burning deep inside my soul
(Yeah, I know, yeah I know)
Yes I was saved by the fire
Burning deep inside my soul
The lyrics to "Saved" by Devendra Banhart portray a relationship that is marked by difficulty and turmoil. The singer asserts his independence, saying that he does not need anyone to rescue him or show him how he should be treated. However, he does need someone to give him the courage to walk away from the relationship. Throughout the song, the singer expresses how the tumultuousness of the relationship affects him, going as far as saying that he plays dead inside to protect his pride. He acknowledges that he has been mistreated by his partner, yet he stays with them despite their constant mind changes and actions that cause him pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I don't need nobody to rescue me,
I don't require anyone's help to save me from anything
Or help me see the way you treat me.
I don't need anyone to show me how you're treating me
But I do need somebody to help me say
Despite not needing someone to rescue or show me anything, I still need help speaking out
It's time to walk away (Alright, okay)
I need someone to help me end this relationship and move on
Too many times
This has happened too many times already
You crossed over that line
You've done something that's not acceptable
You changed your mind
You keep changing your stance
But I never did change mine
I've always stayed firm in my position
Still I was saved by the fire
Despite the turmoils in our relationship, something saved me
Singing its song in my heart
That something was like a melody in my heart
That hypnotized all the demons
It was able to cast out all the negativity in my life
And tore them apart
It broke free from the bondage of the demons
But you make them all come back
You keep bringing back all the troubles
You make them all return
You tend to revive all the demons I got rid of
You're so good at that
You're an expert at causing trouble
And I will never learn
I will never learn to stay away from you
No, I never will (I never will, baby)
I'm convinced that I'm always going to be with you
Well I don't need nobody to heal my pride
I don't need anyone to make me feel good about myself
Cause I'm playing dead inside
I'm emotionally withdrawn
But I do need somebody
Although I don't need you, I still need someone
To come wake me up, shake me up
I need someone to come wake me up and help me move on
Help me to stand up, stand up
I need someone to help me stand up for myself
You put me down
You always bring me down emotionally
You cut me down
You destroy my confidence
You turned me down
You repeatedly reject me
And I still stick around
Despite everything, I'm still here with you
You tame my soul
You always keep me in check
Swallowed me whole
You completely control me
I lost control
I no longer have any control in this relationship
And I still couldn't let you go
Despite everything, I still can't bring myself to leave you
But I was saved by the fire
Just like before, something saved me
That was burning deep inside of myself
It was something that was always within me
I was a knave to desire
I couldn't control my desire for you
But I finally got a little bit of help
But I finally got some assistance in dealing with my desires
You ripped out my tongue
You took away my ability to speak out for myself
You couldn't trust me with that
You thought I would use it against you
You hid your trust fund
You kept something important from me
I wouldn't a judged you for that
I wouldn't have held it against you
You made me feel dumb
You always make me feel inferior
Well I ain't new to that
But I'm used to feeling that way so it doesn't bother me anymore
I must-a treated you wrong
I must have made some errors in this relationship
And now you're treating me wrong right back
Now you're treating me the same way I treated you
Two many times, three many times, four many times
Just like before, it's happened too many times again
I'm about to crack
I'm about to lose it
Eight many times, nine many times
It's happened too many times to keep count
Too many times
It's happened too many times already
I lost track
I can no longer keep count of how many times it's happened
Still yes, I was saved by the fire
Despite the repetition, I was still saved by something
Burning deep inside my soul
Just like before, it was something within me
Yeah I was saved by the fire
Yes, I was saved by that same thing again
Yeah, I know, yeah I know
I'm aware of the fact that I need to move on
Yes I was saved by the fire
One more time, that same thing saved me
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEVENDRA BANHART, NOAH GEORGESON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thais Nicols
on Mi Negrita
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