Hoop has lived all over the map, and her rich life experience is reflected in her distinctive voice and natural gift for inventive song craft. She learned to sing at an early age, harmonising with her musical Mormon family in northern California. She began writing highly idiosyncratic songs at the age of 14 to keep her company on her long walks to school. At 16, Hoop broke away from her strict upbringing and began what she calls her 'life as a racoon', off the grid & close to nature. Rambling through the high mountain deserts of the Southwest and along the coastlines of the Northwest, she worked as a wilderness survival guide and chalked up skills in farming, surveying, and carpentry. Her songwriting continued throughout, shared on porches, in deep river canyons and around campfires.
 In 2004 the desire to share these songs on a broader scale set in. She settled in Los Angeles, where she honed her songwriting craft and developed a reputation as a unique and beguiling live performer of real substance. Though she now resides in Manchester, England, Hoop returned to Los Angeles to record her third album, The House That Jack Built.
 Jesca has quite the collection of fans in high places: Tom Waits described her music as being "like a four sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night". Peter Gabriel took her to South America to sing with him, and in recent years she has been hand picked to play as support on tour for Eels, Andrew Bird, Punch Brothers, Shearwater and Elbow: Elbow's Guy Garvey has even had her do stints as guest presenter on his BBC radio show, to great reception.
 The follow up to 2009's critically acclaimed Hunting My Dress, "The House That Jack Built" displays a striking duality: light and dark, head and heart, it juxtaposes the macabre and visceral with a disarmingly candid intimacy. The resulting combination is powerfully evocative, with overarching themes of biology, nature and humanity - Hoop's stone-turning observations are mired in the equal beauty and violence of a nature that, for her, is clearly red in tooth and claw.
ANIMAL KINGDOM CHAOTIC
Jesca Hoop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I just work your computer says no
Are we all ones and zeros
I just work your computer says no
Oooh
You know you want it but the
Oooh
Oooh
You know you wanna, wanna take back control
Oooh
I say it is possible
But your computer says no
You say it's impossible
But your dumb computer says no
Oooh
You know you wanna but the
Oooh
Computer says no
Oooh
You know you wanna, wanna take back control
Take back control
Take back control
Take back control
Human kind wiped out by rise in drones
Take back control
Fighting killing by remote control
You know you wanna but the drone
You know you wanna but the drone
You know you wanna but the drone
You know you wanna but the
You know you wanna but computer says no
You know you wanna but the
Take back control
Robots are the new exotic
Animal kingdom chaotic
My working jacket, hand in pocket
Oh how I learn to love the rocket
Oooh
You know you want it but the
Oooh
Computer says no
Oooh
You know you wanna, wanna take back control
Oooh
You know you want it but the
Oooh
Computer says no
Oooh
You know you want it wanna take back control
Take back control
Take back control
Take back control
Human kind wiped out by rise in drone
Take back control
Fighting killing by remote control
Take back control
Human kind wiped out by rise in drone
Take back control
Fighting killing
Fighting killing
Fighting killing
Fighting killing by remote control
You know you wanna but the drone
You know you wanna but the drone
You know you wanna but the drone
The lyrics of Jesca Hoop's "Animal Kingdom Chaotic" convey a sense of technology and automation taking over human life. The first two lines talk about finding poets, but the computer says no as if to say that such creative pursuits are not valued in a world controlled by technology. The following lines seem to suggest that humans are reduced to mere ones and zeros - a binary code that computer systems understand. The repeated "Oooh" after each verse is almost mocking, questioning our desire to reclaim control when the computer seems to dictate every aspect of our existence.
The song becomes more urgent in the second half as it turns to the theme of warfare and drone technology. The chorus encourages listeners to take back control against the rise of drones, which can wipe out human life without any direct physical contact. The repeated line "you know you wanna but the drone" is confusing - does it suggest that we are complicit in this technological takeover? The final verse introduces the line "robots are the new exotic," implying that technology has almost become something to aspire to. The song ends in a repetition of the calls to "take back control" against the chaos of the animal kingdom that technology has created.
Overall, the lyrics suggest a world where technology is king, and humans are reduced to nothing but drones following its commands. The call for control implies that there may still be hope for humanity to regain some agency.
Line by Line Meaning
Why would we find the poets
Questioning the relevance of poetry in a world controlled by technology
I just work your computer says no
The limitations imposed by technology on human creativity
Are we all ones and zeros
Asking if humans have become just like machines, lacking creativity and free will
Oooh
Expressing desire and frustration towards limitations imposed by technology
You know you want it but the
The desire for freedom and creativity, despite being limited by technology
Computer says no
The limitations imposed by technology on human creativity and freedom
You know you wanna, wanna take back control
The desire to overcome the limitations imposed by technology
I say it is possible
Belief in the ability of humans to overcome the limitations imposed by technology
But your computer says no
The limitations imposed by technology on human creativity and freedom
You say it's impossible
Doubt towards the ability of humans to overcome the limitations imposed by technology
But your dumb computer says no
The limitations imposed by technology on human creativity and freedom
Human kind wiped out by rise in drones
The danger of technology growing beyond human control and causing destruction
Fighting killing by remote control
The detachment and lack of accountability in using technology for destruction
Robots are the new exotic
The increasing integration of technology with every aspect of human life
Animal kingdom chaotic
The disruption caused by technology on the natural order of the world
My working jacket, hand in pocket
The integration of technology into everyday life
Oh how I learn to love the rocket
The seduction of technology and the desire to explore and innovate using it
Writer(s): Samuel Ervin Beam, Jesca Hoop
Contributed by Mia A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michael Rider
this album is sacred. it makes me feel enlightened and makes me wanna cry.
TheMemoman
I agree. And this song is phenomenal. The palette of topics, feelings, and the unbelievable virtuosity in stitching it all together with such fantastic soundscape from conception to execution...... Damn fuckin good music.
ridovem
same opinion... similar reaction. 💜 ^..^
icinemaker
I heard this song while driving on freeway. For 2 and half hour I tried to remember the lyrics [take back control... computer says no]. It was a fun ride!
David Atkinson
It's her voice...enchanted
Chris Anderson
verses are pygmy-like and netwebish... telepathy of technology and ultimately heart clenchingingly urgent
Gregor S
Effing genius!
Lee Waters
The algorithms that control what gets heard will never let this warning go out to the masses.
dustin cecil
like electronic raindrops.
Melisa
Little Britain