Holter, a Los Angeles native, grew up in a musical family. Her father plays guitar and once performed with Pete Seeger. Her mother, Carole Shammas, is a prominent academic and currently holds the John R. Hubbard Chair in History at the University of Southern California. Besides playing and recording music, Holter tutors students and works with a nonprofit organization for teenagers in South Central Los Angeles. After graduating from CalArts, where she studied composition, Holter contributed songs to multiple compilation albums in 2008. She performed in the LA Road Concert with the Open Academy Youth Orchestra on Washington Boulevard in 2009. The following year she began playing with Linda Perhacs' band. In 2010, she released a CD-R titled Celebration and a collection of live recordings.
Her debut studio album, Tragedy, was released in August 2011 on Leaving Records. Inspired by Euripides' Greek play Hippolytus, the album received generally favorable reviews and was named one of NPR's "Best Outer Sound Albums Of 2011".
Holter released a second album, Ekstasis, in March 2012 on the RVNG label. The album drew comparisons to works by such artists as Laurie Anderson, Julianna Barwick, Kate Bush, Joanna Newsom, Grouper, and Stereolab, and received many positive reviews. Holter spent three years making the album, whose title comes from the Greek word meaning "outside of oneself." The music video for album track "Moni Mon Amie", directed by Yelena Zhelezov, was also released in March.
In addition to collaborating with other California-based musicians like Nite Jewel (Ramona Gonzalez), Holter recently released her third album, Loud City Song. Unlike her first two albums, which were recorded mostly alone in her bedroom, Holter recorded Loud City Song with an ensemble of musicians
In The Green Wild
Julia Holter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See I never could fall down straight in line so sure
Someone with a thing to say writes on a leaf and lets it fall onto my feet
I receive the news so small a child who cannot understand
I can't hear and I don't know
And the wind slows down so
Still a tree's a tree!
And the language is strange the woman's "wa wa"
Am I too bored to understand?
Well good, I'm done
Off to the wild for me
In the green wild I am gone
My hands, toes, shoulders gone
But the shoes my feet have worn still remain
And they walk toward the sea
There's a flavor to the sound of walking no one ever noticed before
There's a humor in the way they walk
Even a flower walks
But doesn't look for me
It walks just as it's grown
It's laughing so naturally
It tells me a tree's a tree
The opening lyrics of Julia Holter's song In The Green Wild describe a juxtaposition between the artificiality of city living and the raw beauty of nature. The singer finds herself in green fertile valleys wearing city shoes, suggesting a sense of displacement and a lack of connection with the natural world. She acknowledges her inability to conform to societal expectations of linear thinking and conformity, suggesting a rebellious and non-conformist nature. The line "Someone with a thing to say writes on a leaf and lets it fall onto my feet" represents a chance encounter with a message from the universe, a serendipitous moment of revelation.
The following lines express a sense of confusion and disorientation. The singer describes herself as "a small child who cannot understand" and struggles to make sense of the message she has been given. However, in the stillness of nature, "a tree's a tree" and everything falls into place, if only for a moment. The subsequent lines disrupt this sense of understanding, as the tree speaks in a strange language and the woman's speech becomes incomprehensible. The singer questions whether she is simply too bored to understand, but ultimately decides that it doesn't matter - she is ready to abandon the artificiality of the city for the untamed and unapologetic wildness of nature.
Line by Line Meaning
City shoes found ways down green fertile valleys
Urban footwear treks through rural terrain
See I never could fall down straight in line so sure
I've always been unable to conform to strict authority
Someone with a thing to say writes on a leaf and lets it fall onto my feet
Anonymous messenger delivers a message to me in a unique way
I receive the news so small a child who cannot understand
I receive the message but struggle to comprehend it
I can't hear and I don't know
I lack the ability to perceive and understand the message
And the wind slows down so
The environment seems to change and accentuate the moment
Still a tree's a tree!
Despite the chaos, some things remain constant
So calm and for a moment it makes sense but the tree says "la la"
I find temporary peace, but the nonsensical world quickly disrupts it
And the language is strange the woman's "wa wa"
Even spoken word is unintelligible in this surreal setting
Am I too bored to understand?
Are my perceptions dulled and unresponsive?
Well good, I'm done
Maybe the confusion is preferable to stagnation
Off to the wild for me
I'll seek solace in nature
In the green wild I am gone
In nature I find escape
My hands, toes, shoulders gone
Sensory boundaries dissolve in the wild
But the shoes my feet have worn still remain
The remnants of my urban life persist in the wild
And they walk toward the sea
I progress towards the horizon
There's a flavor to the sound of walking no one ever noticed before
The sensations of nature expose unnoticed subtleties
There's a humor in the way they walk
The creatures of the wild display playful movements
Even a flower walks
The beauty of the wild is in its unexpectedness
But doesn't look for me
Nature exists without regard to my presence
It walks just as it's grown
Nature follows its own inherent logic
It's laughing so naturally
The natural world finds amusement in my presence
It tells me a tree's a tree
The simplicity of nature is comforting amidst the chaos
Contributed by Hannah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Trong Nhan
City shoes found ways down green fertile valleys
See I never could fall down straight in line so sure
Someone with a thing to say writes on a leaf and lets it fall onto my feet
I receive the news so small a child who cannot understand
I can't hear and I don't know
And the wind slows down so
Still a tree's a tree!
So calm and for a moment it makes sense
But the tree says "la la"
And the language is strange the woman's "wa wa"
Am I too bored to understand?
Well good, I'm done
Off to the wild for me
In the green wild I am gone
My hands, toes, shoulders gone
But the shoes my feet have worn still remain
And they walk toward the sea
There's a flavor to the sound of walking no one ever noticed before
There's a humor in the way they walk
Even a flower walks
But doesn't look for me
It walks just as it's grown
It's laughing so naturally
It tells me a tree's a tree
Domino Recording Co.
Julia Holter’s new album ‘Aviary’ is out now on Domino Record Co. Listen & buy: http://smarturl.it/Aviary
More from Julia Holter on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BestOfJuliaHolter
theneedledrop
loving that jazzy bass!
MonkeYear
Commenting just to reposition melon attention on Julia forever.
Construction Bootgazer
it's amazing how she composes songs. how does one imagine the beginnings of a song like this in their mind?
Raik Strunz
Favourite song of this brilliant album, the bass is ridiculously addictive, and the sonic dripping and violins in the second part just soo rewarding.
Scotty Russell Music
still an amazing song and album, bravo.
Daniel RL
Excelente !!!
ferricry
I love all of it! new album sounds promising!
enyafreak2007
Love this song! Beautiful! Thanks to Anthony Fantano I am in love with this album, one of my favorites of the year so far.
Nimrodgizmo
love it!