Wood

Album: Half-Light (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rostam Batmanglij described this song on his website as, "the feeling of being in bed with someone, and dreaming something wild beside them."

    The track dates back to 2011 and was re-released on a 7-inch in early 2016 alongside "EOS," after Batmanglij announced his departure from Vampire Weekend.
  • Batmanglij started the song on an airplane. He explained, "It was a beat I made on my laptop with cut up tabla and digital sitar and me trying to push myself to write the hardest, fastest, most classical violin parts I could."

    He added, "I spent years trying to figure out what to sing on top of it, even recording real string players without a vocal part written - before realizing that everything would have to clear out before my voice could enter the picture."

    It was Vampire Weekend producer Ariel Rechtshaid that helped Batmanglij finally finish the song. He recalled: "Me and Ariel ended up spending about ten days hanging out but not that much time actually making music in the studio, not at the same time anyway. Ariel was dealing with illness in his family. But one of the things we were able to accomplish was recording the lead vocal on 'Wood', it was on a sunny morning with the front door of the studio wide open. Hopefully you get some of that feeling when you listen to it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.