A pastiche of post-rock, chamber-pop and contemporary classical composition, the self-titled debut album is strongly influenced by Ludwig-Leone's background in classical music, which includes a job assisting composer/arranger Nico Muhly.
After finishing his musical studies at Yale, Ludwig-Leone wrote the album in six weeks while holed up in a studio on the mountainous border between Alberta and British Columbia. He focused on lifeʼs top-shelf issues – youth, nostalgia, anxiety, unrequited love – and tied these vast themes to different characters through vocal contributions from longtime friend Allen Tate, as well as Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius.
The first track released from the album, Sonsick, tackles many of these larger themes head-on. ”It’s like a panic attack disguised as a birthday party,” Ludwig-Leone says. ”I realized that the most intense moments are the ones in which conflicting emotional worlds exist inside you, equally, at once.”
San Fermin is not an album of singles but rather a sweeping, full-bodied listen with multiple distinct peaks and ambitious thematic connections. Ludwig-Leone composed all of the album’s arrangements and lyrics in full prior to collaborating and recording, noting that “writing for a large group of unknown musicians infused the writing process with a kind of operatic scope.
Since then, the band has coalesced into a core of eight members in addition to Ludwig-Leone: Allen Tate and Rae Cassidy, lead vocals; Eliza Bagg and Rebekah Durham, vocals/violin; John Brandon, trumpet; Stephen Chen, saxophone; Tyler McDiarmid, guitar; and Mike Hanf, drums.
Parasites
San Fermin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get in there and hang on tight
Take what they can take and leave you bleeding
This little mouth's no good for you
These lips will suck you black and blue
When its done, the teeth and tongue for feeding
Ooooh, honey
Your little hands of paradise
Give them here and hang on tight
This body's been a-trying to find a reason
Your little mouth a-talking fast
It makes my heart a-stir at last
Trying to find a face I can believe in
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
I always knew
Father was a man like you
Mother never got the things she needed
Keep her cased in honeycomb
That way she won't feel alone
The queen, she'll never have to over think it
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
Join the moving pictures and me
Now we're growing up so fast
Flinging through and around the past
Guess were gonna find out what we needed
Your little hands of paradise
Get in there and hang on tight
Trying to find a place I can believe in
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
The lyrics to San Fermin's song "Parasites" seem to be a commentary on relationships, both personal and societal. The singer seems to be addressing someone who is using them for their own selfish purposes, describing their hands and mouth as "parasites" and saying that they take what they want and leave them bleeding. The singer seems resigned to this treatment, even acknowledging that they themselves have been searching for a reason to continue.
The chorus, which features the repetition of "oooh, honey" suggests a sense of longing or sadness, as if the singer is trying to salvage what little they can from the relationship they are in. They talk about their parents, with the line "father was a man like you" suggesting that the singer may be repeating patterns they've seen before. There's a sense of claustrophobia and resignation in the lines "keep her cased in honeycomb, that way she won't feel alone/the queen, she'll never have to over think it," suggesting that society often tries to keep people trapped in their roles and avoid questioning the status quo.
Line by Line Meaning
These little hands are parasites
The singer is describing certain hands as parasitic, as they feed on others and take what they can without regard for anyone else
Get in there and hang on tight
The singer is telling the parasites to hold on tight and take what they can without letting go
Take what they can take and leave you bleeding
The parasites will do anything to take what they want, even if it means causing harm to others in the process
This little mouth's no good for you
The artist is describing a mouth that is harmful to others and should be avoided
These lips will suck you black and blue
The artist is suggesting that this mouth is dangerous and can cause bruises
When its done, the teeth and tongue for feeding
When the mouth is done causing harm, it will still be used to feed on others
Your little hands of paradise
The singer is now describing someone else's hands as paradise, suggesting that they are the opposite of the parasitic hands mentioned earlier
Give them here and hang on tight
The artist is asking to hold onto these hands tightly, implying that they are valuable and trustworthy
This body's been a-trying to find a reason
The artist is suggesting that their body is searching for a purpose or reason to exist
Your little mouth a-talking fast
The artist is now describing someone else's mouth, which speaks quickly and may be stirring emotions in the artist
It makes my heart a-stir at last
The singer is expressing that this mouth's words have finally reached their heart and had an impact
Trying to find a face I can believe in
The artist is searching for someone they can trust, someone with a face they can believe in
I always knew
The singer is expressing that they had always suspected something
Father was a man like you
The singer is making a comparison between their father and someone else, implying that they share similar qualities
Mother never got the things she needed
The singer is describing how their mother never got what she deserved or needed in life
Keep her cased in honeycomb
The artist is suggesting that their mother should be kept in a protective environment, like a honeycomb, to keep her safe and comforted
That way she won't feel alone
The artist is explaining that if their mother is protected and cared for, she won't feel lonely
The queen, she'll never have to over think it
By protecting their mother like a queen, the singer is suggesting that she won't have to worry or stress about things
Join the moving pictures and me
The singer is inviting someone to join them in the journey of life
Now we're growing up so fast
The artist is expressing that time appears to be flying by, and they are growing up quickly
Flinging through and around the past
The artist is describing how they are moving quickly through their personal history or past experiences
Guess were gonna find out what we needed
The artist is expressing that they are going to learn what they needed or wanted in life as they move forward
Trying to find a place I can believe in
The singer is still searching for a place, person, or idea they can trust and believe in
Contributed by Elliot L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@_endzi_2430
These little hands are parasites
Get in there and hang on tight
Take what they can take and leave you bleeding
This little mouth's no good for you
These lips will suck you black and blue
When its done, the teeth and tongue for feeding
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
Your little hands of paradise
Give them here and hang on tight
This body's been a-trying to find a reason
Your little mouth a-talking fast
It makes my heart a-stir at last
Trying to find a face I can believe in
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
I always knew
Father was a man like you
Mother never got the things she needed
Keep her cased in honeycomb
That way she won't feel alone
The queen, she'll never have to over think it
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
Join the moving pictures and me
Now we're growing up so fast
Flinging through and around the past
Guess were gonna find out what we needed
Your little hands of paradise
Get in there and hang on tight
Trying to find a place I can believe in
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
@authorwannabe889
[Charlene Kaye]
These little hands are parasites
Get in there and hang on tight
Take what they can take and leave you bleeding
This little mouth's no good for you
These lips will suck you black and blue
When it's done, the teeth and tongue for feeding
[Charlene Kaye]
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
[Allen Tate]
Your little hands are paradise
Give them here and hang on tight
This body's been a-trying to find a reason
Your little mouth a-talking fast
It makes my heart astir at last
Trying to find a face I can believe in
[Both]
Ooooh, honey
(Ooooh, honey)
[Charlene Kaye]
I always knew
Father was a man like you
Mother never got the things she needed
[Allen Tate]
Keep her cased in honeycomb
That way she won't feel alone
The queen should never have to overthink it
[Both]
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
[Charlene Kaye]
Join the moving pictures and be saved!
[Both]
Now we're growing up so fast
Days of fooling 'round are past
Guess we better find out what we're needing
Your little hands are paradise
Get in there and hang on tight
Trying to find a face I can believe in
[Both]
Ooooh, honey
Ooooh, honey
@sarahackroyd2150
this man's voice is like fingers digging into my spine and I mean that in the best possible way.
@cruisinonmybizzle
The breakdown alone that begins at 3:00 makes the song worth listening to... The sax just kills it...
@thenaruto0501
A friend called Marina show me this song while years ago, we don't talk anymore but i want to say thanks for this so good song.
@GlassMeadows
Man, came back to 2021 and seeing this song is still underrated as fuckkkk, i wish more were to see this 😔
@samwyld2939
Beautifully weird. Weirdly beautiful. Either way, yessss.
@johnIZaUWL
Of course😆😆😆
@ebmg33
Great track. The entire second half is vibrating with energy.
@capriccariust4261
This song is so haunting. I love it, I wish I could go to a show but unfortunately, I'm European :(
@sprednxtnd
This is awesome. I can't wait for the new album! It was amazing seeing y'all perform in San Francisco -- easily one of the top 5 greatest shows of my life.
@Shordanna
I've been dancing to all the songs 😍