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 lifeสผs top-shelf issues โ youth, nostalgia, anxiety, unrequited love โ 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. โItโs like a panic attack disguised as a birthday party,โ Ludwig-Leone says. โI realized that the most intense moments are the ones in which conflicting emotional worlds exist inside you, equally, at once.โ
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 albumโs arrangements and lyrics in full prior to collaborating and recording, noting that โwriting 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.
The Woods
San Fermin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The woods behind the little school
Two went in and one came home
We didn't go in there along.
Your eyes were lovely as you danced
with centipedes and little ants
we built a fort of lovers' teeth
and some of mother's sheets
But there are witches in these woods.
They followed us into the trees
wearing crowns of twigs and leaves
you and I were in the mud
And painted ourselves with spiders blood
your eyes were lovely, dark and dancing
pulling legs off salamaders
a little creature you once spun
to skin and bones and brains and blood
while witches they surrounded us
I was a boy and I was good
but there are witches in these woods.
The nights are lovely, dark and deep
But I'll appear when you're asleep
You'll wake up with a sudden hurt
With mouth and lungs all full of dirt
We went the two of us into
The woods behind the little school
Yet I'm still buried in the mud
Skin and bones and brains and blood
The song "The Woods" by San Fermin is a haunting and cryptic musical exploration of a dreamlike journey through the woods. The opening lines describe two people going into the woods together but only one coming back out. There is a sense of danger and darkness lurking in the woods from the beginning, setting the tone for the rest of the song. The lyrics describe a surreal experience in which the listener is taken on a journey through a twisted and macabre forest where the characters interact with strange creatures and witches. The imagery is vivid and grotesque, with references to centipedes and ants, lovers' teeth, and spiders' blood.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I was a boy and I was good, but there are witches in these woods," emphasizing the sense of innocence and vulnerability in the face of the unknown. The witches seem to be a metaphor for the darker forces that exist in the world and the fear that can come from confronting them. The song continues with descriptions of the characters painting themselves with spiders' blood and pulling legs off salamanders, creating an unsettling and creepy atmosphere.
The song's final lines reveal a haunting twist, suggesting that the singer has been buried in the woods and now haunts the dreams of the surviving character. The lyrics suggest a warning about the dangers of venturing too far into the unknown and the darkness that can haunt us even after we've left it behind.
Line by Line Meaning
We went the two of us into
Two people went into the woods.
The woods behind the little school
The woods are behind a school.
Two went in and one came home
One person returned from the woods.
We didn't go in there along.
They did not enter the woods together.
Your eyes were lovely as you danced
The person's eyes were beautiful as they danced in the woods.
with centipedes and little ants
The person was dancing with insects.
we built a fort of lovers' teeth
They built a fort from teeth and sheets.
and some of mother's sheets
They used some of their mother's sheets to build a fort.
I was a boy and I was good
The artist was a good boy.
But there are witches in these woods.
There are witches in the woods.
They followed us into the trees
The witches followed them into the woods.
wearing crowns of twigs and leaves
The witches wore crowns made of twigs and leaves.
you and I were in the mud
They were both in the mud.
And painted ourselves with spiders blood
They painted themselves with spider blood.
your eyes were lovely, dark and dancing
The person's eyes were beautiful and dancing in the dark.
pulling legs off salamaders
They were pulling legs off salamanders.
a little creature you once spun
They created a little creature.
to skin and bones and brains and blood
The little creature was stripped to skin, bones, brains, and blood.
while witches they surrounded us
The witches surrounded them.
I was a boy and I was good
The artist was still a good boy.
but there are witches in these woods.
There are still witches in the woods.
The nights are lovely, dark and deep
The nights are beautiful but dangerous.
But I'll appear when you're asleep
The singer will appear in their dreams.
You'll wake up with a sudden hurt
They will wake up suddenly in pain.
With mouth and lungs all full of dirt
They will have dirt in their mouth and lungs.
Yet I'm still buried in the mud
The singer is still buried in the mud.
Skin and bones and brains and blood
The singer is reduced to skin, bones, brains, and blood.
Writer(s): Ellis Ludwig-Leone
Contributed by Katherine J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.