Bacchanalia Magazine

by Reb Jordin

Ha Vay, San Francisco based indie pop singer songwriter, recently released her second single on February 2 nd ‘Baby I’m The Wolf’ which is to be the title track of her upcoming album. In the track Vay explores the theme of being on the precipice of womanhood whilst comparing this change to Lycanthropy. The song follows a girl (the ‘Lamb’) who is sick of being confined to the clothes of her girlhood so breaks free and becomes a woman or the ‘Wolf’.

The pre-chorus contains gothic lyrics such as, ‘I’m singing. I’m screeching’, which are reminiscent of the frustrations woman face every day. All throughout a girl’s childhood they are engraved with folklore depicting the horrors of womanhood told through the male gaze. Whether that be fear of growing older or fear of a man’s control, girls are taught that growth is a negative concept. ‘Baby I’m The Wolf’ is an ethereal and vulnerable song within which Vay reclaims the femininity of a girl’s true tale back to erase the tarnishing created by a man’s perception of female growth.

In the track, the ‘lamb’ has been held hostage by the shackles of male desires for so long that she must escape howling into the cosmos, ‘you think you’ve caught a lamb. But baby, I’m the wolf’. Vay creates a triumphant moment amongst a storm of female rage gifting the listener with empowerment and the encouragement to join the revelry.

Vay writes lyrics like ‘I unravel your disguise’, which weave a new tapestry of verity laced thread to convey the real fairytale of womanhood to girls who were told growing up would be a haunting tale so grew to fear and resent it.

The music video for this track uses powerful imagery of the transition from girlhood to womanhood as Vay dances amongst candlelight or snow swollen ground at different transitions of growth. Vay describes her song as ‘to unfold moment by moment so you can experience yourself shifting into a wolf (or woman) in the night as you listen’. A bold concept which she beautifully achieved as the beat of the song quickens to join the growing passion within the instruments and carefully crafted lyrics.

By the song’s end Vay is like a siren luring the listener into her dream marbled clutches to instil within them the truth. Womanhood isn’t a bad thing, it is power.

So go and give ‘Baby I’m The Wolf’ a listen now and fully immerse yourself within the mystic with its music video as we anticipate the release of her sure to be wonderous album.