He began experimenting with sound and four-track recording at the age of 11, eventually building an arsenal of instruments that included junk-shop organs and a home-built theremin. At the age of 14 he joined the pop-art collective Minty, a venture that caught the eyes and ears of Fat Cat Records, which went on to supply the youth with a computer and mixing tools for aid in his newfound audio experimentation. He left home at the age of 16 and formed Maison Crimineaux with his friend Fanny, which eventually found its way to France where the noisy duo played a show attended by electronic maestro Kristian Robinson (aka Capitol K), who went on to release Wolf's lauded 2003 debut. With Lycanthropy reaching number 39 in the NME's top LPs of the year, as well as receiving critical acclaim throughout Europe and America, Wolf decided to study composition at the Trinity College Music Conservatoire.
The results of that endeavor can be heard on his 2005 release Wind in the Wires, a dark collection of moody British folk and chamber pop with a chilly laptop sheen.
Wolf released his third album, and the first on a major label, The Magic Position, in February 2007. A concept album on the theme of love, the majority of it was written after the end of a long term intimate relationship. It featured collaborations with Marianne Faithfull and Edward Larrikin of Larrikin Love.
His fourth album, The Bachelor, was originally supposed to be part of a double album called Battle (the other disc was to be called The Conqueror). It was released on 1 June 2009. Guest musicians included Atari Teenage Riot's Alec Empire, actress Tilda Swinton, folk musician Eliza Carthy and avant-garde electronic pioneer Matthew Herbert.
Wolf's fifth album, Lupercalia, was released on 20 June 2011 by Hideout, a subsidiary of Mercury Records. Songfacts explains that the album title refers to the fertility and love festival which the ancient Romans celebrated between February 13-15 (the predecessor to Valentine's Day).
His latest release is a double album entitled Sundark and Riverlight, celebrating Wolf's 10 years as a recording artist. The album features acoustic re-recordings of songs from throughout his career, as well as previously unheard tracks.
Demolition
Patrick Wolf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And every wall that once was clean. has turned a shade of grey.
So much to rescue. so much you just can't understand
Now the streets are dark and empty. and the problems in our hands.
I can't leave you. see back home my house is falling down.
I can't leave you. and back home my house is falling down
Since I met you. my basement has started to bleed
The floors are all collapsing. still I'm begging to be free
Patrick Wolf's song "Demolition" tells the story of a man who meets someone who leads him down a path of destruction. The song starts with a metaphor where the singer compares his life to a house that has "started to decay." The clean walls have now turned into a "shade of grey," which hints at how the morale of the singer has changed. The chorus further emphasizes that he can't leave this person, no matter how much damage they cause since his home is falling apart.
As the song progresses, the metaphorical house starts to crumble to an extent where the basement is now bleeding, and the floors are collapsing. The imagery used here is quite vivid, suggesting that things have gotten much worse since the start of the song. The singer is troubled by everything that has happened and is begging to be free. The song concludes with the repetition of the chorus, once again reiterating that he can't leave this toxic relationship because he has nothing to go back to.
Line by Line Meaning
Since I met you. this house has started to decay
Ever since I met you, everything around me has started falling apart, just like this house that's decaying.
And every wall that once was clean. has turned a shade of grey.
Every wall that was once bright and clean has now become dull and grey, just like my life since I met you.
So much to rescue. so much you just can't understand
There's so much that needs to be saved, but you don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.
Now the streets are dark and empty. and the problems in our hands.
The streets are now dark and empty, and the problems we face are all in our hands with no one to turn to for help.
I can't leave you. see back home my house is falling down.
Even though my own house is falling apart, I can't bring myself to leave you and the destruction you've caused in my life.
I can't leave you. and back home my house is falling down
I'm trapped between two crumbling homes - the actual physical one that's falling apart and the one in my heart that's being destroyed by you.
Since I met you. my basement has started to bleed
Since I met you, my life has been a series of unfortunate events and now it feels like even the foundations of who I am are starting to bleed out.
The floors are all collapsing. still I'm begging to be free
As everything around me collapses, I still find myself begging for a way out - to be free from the destruction and chaos that surrounds me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PATRICK WOLF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind