Be A Body (侘寂) is a song by Grimes. Appearing on her third studio album, Visions, it is the 8th track on the album.
Background[]
The song was written partly in response to "Post Physical", Denver producer Pictureplane's ode to the internet age, and partly due to a newfound love of R&B following a tour with Brooklyn's lo-fi R&B crooner How to Dress Well. "It's probably the song on the record that takes most from the contemporary dialogue, I would say," she told Dazed.[1]
The song's name was based off of a quote said by Italian Dominican friar and Scriptural theologian Thomas Aquinas regarding the Medieval Christian mentality.[2]
Grimes also said the following about the song:[3]
❝ I don't have a phone. Everyone I know is always on their f***ing phone on the Internet all the time. I just wanted to write a song about being alive in the real world — "be a body. ❞
In a retrospective track-by-track commentary, Grimes said about the song:[4]
❝ I adore this song. I feel so weird about it now. We shot a video for it starring my beautiful friend Hannah Myrberg who was a ballerina, and then she passed away before we could put the video out. And so we just never put it out because it felt exploitative of her death or something. I think everyone was just really traumatized and didn't know how to handle it. I remember she stick-and-poke tattooed "Be A Body" onto her knuckles while we were making this. Miss her a lot, and she's always tied to this song for me. Dedicated to her for sure. ❞
Media[]
Posted to Tumblr on April 11, 2011:[5]
❝ Be a Body Video stills this might never see the light of day cuz it’s a pre-4ad video (budget of $136!) ;) am thinking of using the footage for an elite gymnastics video? have to work it out with everyone else involved ❞
Trivia[]
- The title features the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, (侘寂), which represents a Japanese worldview that beauty is impermanent.[6][7]
- In 2012, she called it her favourite song.[1]
- At one point Grimes wanted to use the footage of the scrapped music video for an old song of a friend of hers, but didn't because "it wouldn’t have made sense in the press cycle".[8]
- It was the second-to-last song to be written for Visions and one of the only songs to not be written in a single day.[9]
Lyrics[]
[Verse]
Ooh, what peace of mind
What a night, what a sight
Cause I want to call home
Ooh, what peace of mind
What a night, what a sight
Cause I want to call home
(Be a body)
[Refrain]
I close my eyes until I see
I don't need hands to touch me
Be a body
I lean on walls until I stand
I touch my face with my hand
Be a body
I close my eyes until I see
I don't need hands to touch me
Be a body
I lean on walls until I stand
I touch my face with my hand
Be a body
[Interlude]
(To the rhythm I go)
Be a body
So then what am I?
(To the rhythm I go)
Be a body
So then what am I?
Be a body
So then what am I?
Be a body
So then what am I?
(To the rhythm I go)
[Verse]
Ooh, what peace of mind
What a night, what a sight
Cause I want to call home
Ooh, what peace of mind
What a night, what a sight
Cause I want to call home
(Be a body)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/19961/1/grimes-ready-to-fly
- ↑ https://www.electronicbeats.net/the-visions-the-voice-an-interview-with-grimes/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20120509042813/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Grimes+spotlight+with+brilliant+Visions/6175085/story.html#ixzz3PmpHo8WX
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Grimes/comments/sr5yay/listening_note_booklet/
- ↑ https://www.tumblr.com/grimespostarchive/703322709918138368/actuallygrimes-be-a-body-video-stills-this?source=share
- ↑ https://japanobjects.com/features/wabi-sabi
- ↑ https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/60-seconds-with-grimes
- ↑ https://gothbarbie.medium.com/interview-with-grimes-2012-3b20f26206ca
- ↑ https://www.electronicbeats.net/the-visions-the-voice-an-interview-with-grimes/