As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM 25 August 2004
Free Will and Testament
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I cannot will myself to limitless mutations,
I cannot know what I would be if I were not me,
I can only guess me.
So when I say that I know me, how can I know that?
What kind of spider understands arachnophobia?
I have my senses and my sense of having senses.
The weight of dust exceeds the weight of settled objects.
What can it mean, such gravity without a centre?
Is there freedom to un-be?
Is there freedom from will-to-be?
Sheer momentum makes us act this way or that way.
We just invent or just assume a motivation.
I would disperse, be disconnected. Is this possible?
What are soldiers without a foe?
Be in the air, but not be air, be in the no air.
Be on the loose, neither compacted nor suspended.
Neither born nor left to die.
Had I been free, I could have chosen not to be me.
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill.
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill.
Let me off please, I am so tired.
Let me off please, I am so very tired.
The lyrics of Robert Wyatt's song "Free Will and Testament" delve deep into the philosophical notion of free will and its limitations. The song reflects on the complex nature of human identity and our inability to escape our own limitations or predict who we would be if we were someone else. Wyatt suggests that the idea of self-understanding is an illusion since we can never fully know ourselves, and we're only able to understand ourselves based on our perceptions of who we think we are.
Wyatt ponders whether we guide our senses or they guide us and questions the concept of freedom to "un-be" or whether there is freedom from "will-to-be." He suggests that our actions are often performed out of sheer momentum and that we only invent or assume motivations for them. The idea of being "in the air" without being air is thought-provoking and illustrates the challenging notion of existing in between states or in the void.
Wyatt's desperation is palpable in the final lines of the song, as he repeats the phrase "Let me off, please, I am so tired." Perhaps this is an acknowledgment of the overwhelming immensity of these philosophical questions and our inability to answer them satisfactorily, leaving us feeling trapped in our own existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Given free will but within certain limitations,
Although I have the power to make my own choices, there are restrictions on what I can do
I cannot will myself to limitless mutations,
I cannot control every aspect of my being, nor fundamentally change it
I cannot know what I would be if I were not me,
I can only imagine what it would be like to be someone else, but it's impossible to truly experience it
I can only guess me.
I can only have a limited understanding of myself
So when I say that I know me, how can I know that?
Even though I may think I know myself, there is much I don't understand
What kind of spider understands arachnophobia?
Just as a spider cannot relate to the fear of itself, can one truly understand themselves?
I have my senses and my sense of having senses.
My perceptions of the world around me and myself are all I have to understand my own existence
Do I guide them? Or they me?
Is it me controlling my senses and instincts, or are they controlling me?
The weight of dust exceeds the weight of settled objects.
Things that seem insignificant can often hold more weight than what is visibly apparent
What can it mean, such gravity without a centre?
What is the significance of a system without a clear focal point?
Is there freedom to un-be?
Is it possible to cease existing or change one's current state of existence?
Is there freedom from will-to-be?
Can one be free from the desire to exist?
Sheer momentum makes us act this way or that way.
Our actions may not always be a result of conscious choices, but rather circumstances and the momentum of previous actions
We just invent or just assume a motivation.
Our reasons for doing things may be fabricated or assumed, rather than genuine
I would disperse, be disconnected. Is this possible?
I desire to exist disconnected from myself or reality; can this desire truly be achieved?
What are soldiers without a foe?
What is the purpose of existing in opposition, without an opposition to exist in opposition to?
Be in the air, but not be air, be in the no air.
Exist in a state of being without being defined by that state
Be on the loose, neither compacted nor suspended.
Exist outside of confinement, neither restricted nor floating helplessly
Neither born nor left to die.
Neither having experienced birth nor facing the inevitability of death
Had I been free, I could have chosen not to be me.
In an ideal sense of being free from the constraints of existence, I could choose to not exist in my current state
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill.
Forces out of my control drive me relentlessly, leaving me feeling insane and exhausted
Let me off please, I am so tired.
I wish to be free from the constraints of existence and the forces that push me to exhaustion
Let me off please, I am so very tired.
I am utterly exhausted and desire to be free
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, BMG Rights Management
Written by: MARK KRAMER, ROBERT WYATT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carlos Castro
LYRICS
Given free will but within certain limitations
I cannot will myself to limitless mutations
I cannot know what I would be if I were not me
I can only guess me
So when I say that I know me, how can I know that?
What kind of spider understands arachnophobia?
I have my senses and my sense of having senses
Do I guide them? Or they me?
The weight of dust exceeds the weight of settled objects
What can it mean, such gravity without a centre?
Is there freedom to un-be?
Is there freedom from will-to-be?
Sheer momentum makes us act this way or that way
We just invent or just assume a motivation
I would disperse, be disconnected. Is this possible?
What are soldiers without a foe?
Be in the air, but not be air, be in the no air
Be on the loose, neither compacted nor suspended
Neither born nor left to die
Had I been free, I could have chosen not to be me
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill
Let me off please, I am so tired
Let me off please, I am so very tired
Liba Mason
Given free will but within certain limitations,
I cannot will myself to limitless mutations,
I cannot know what I would be if I were not me,
I can only guess me.
So when I say that I know me, how can I know that?
What kind of spider understands arachnophobia?
I have my senses and my sense of having senses.
Do I guide them? Or they me?
The weight of dust exceeds the weight of settled objects.
What can it mean, such gravity without a centre?
Is there freedom to un-be?
Is there freedom from will-to-be?
Sheer momentum makes us act this way or that way.
We just invent or just assume a motivation.
I would disperse, be disconnected. Is this possible?
What are soldiers without a foe?
Be in the air, but not be air, be in the no air.
Be on the loose, neither compacted nor suspended.
Neither born nor left to die.
Had I been free, I could have chosen not to be me.
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill.
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill.
Let me off please, I am so tired.
Let me off please, I am so very tired.
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Mark Kramer / Robert Wyatt
Carlos Castro
LYRICS
Given free will but within certain limitations
I cannot will myself to limitless mutations
I cannot know what I would be if I were not me
I can only guess me
So when I say that I know me, how can I know that?
What kind of spider understands arachnophobia?
I have my senses and my sense of having senses
Do I guide them? Or they me?
The weight of dust exceeds the weight of settled objects
What can it mean, such gravity without a centre?
Is there freedom to un-be?
Is there freedom from will-to-be?
Sheer momentum makes us act this way or that way
We just invent or just assume a motivation
I would disperse, be disconnected. Is this possible?
What are soldiers without a foe?
Be in the air, but not be air, be in the no air
Be on the loose, neither compacted nor suspended
Neither born nor left to die
Had I been free, I could have chosen not to be me
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill
Demented forces push me madly round a treadmill
Let me off please, I am so tired
Let me off please, I am so very tired
Franklin Abreu
Simplesmente belo!!
LunaSeaSane
Excellent recording.
Moonstatue
my sadness now doesnt came from a hate of life but rather how much i love it and to see where it is right now.
Fu Phan Wang
hold on brother.
paradoksimies
a perfect definition of existential angst
Earlyturtle
The sensitivity of this man's perception must leave him feeling like an owl in daylight.
Jma Wa
I JUST DISCOVERT HIM... SUCH A LOVELY HUMAN BEEING AND MUSICIAN !!!!! GREAT
I ONLY KNEW SOFT MACHINE FOR A LONG TIME , GOOD WHEN YOU GOOGLE OLD BAND MEMBERS
Lucio Santoro
Bellissima!!!
b
i love it