Meaning of “Vampire Empire” by Big Thief
Big Thief is an indie-folk outfit from Brooklyn with a discography dating back to 2016. Their third studio album, “U.F.O.F.” (2019), is considered their most-notable work to date, in that it was nominated for a Grammy (Best Alternative Album, which ultimately went to Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride) and won a Libera Award (Album of the Year) in 2020.
And since then the crew – which consists of lead vocalist Adrianne Lenker backed by Buck Meek (guitar), Max Oleartchik (bass) and James Krivchenia (drums) – have been steadily on the rise as far as how their subsequent albums – 2019’s “Two Hands” and 2022’s “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You” – fared on music charts.
Adrianne Lenker wrote “Vampire Empire”, which 4AD released on 19 July 2023, being produced by Dom Monks. Fans of the band have been familiar with the tune for some time, as Big Thief performed it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in March of 2023, and prior to that they had been playing it via live shows, debuting the song in late 2022.
Lyrics of “Vampire Empire”
The logical presumption, all lyrics considered, would be that Adrianne is singing to her significant other, and the easiest way of interpreting what’s being put forth is as alluding to said individual being a toxic partner.
Lenker’s artistry is such that, even though she was in a heterosexual marriage a few years back, she utilizes a gender binary approach. So it isn’t clear if the addressee is more or female, nor would that be the point given her explanation of this piece, though it can also be pointed out that the final line of chorus clearly implies that it’s another female.
The title of the song refers to what Lenker has dubbed “the empire of energy”. To be honest, the entire explanation she offered isn’t the easiest to understand. But apparently, “Vampire Empire” is ultimately meant to point to espousing the practicing a higher degree of self-discipline, which would then increase “the possibility of giving and receiving unbroken and infinite Love”.
That notion doesn’t really come through via the lyrics. Instead what they seem to speak to, once again, is the troubled relationship between the vocalist and addressee. Or viewed from a different angle, we’ve already established that the latter is toxic.
Yet as Adrianne puts it, she is ‘falling in her vampire empire’ nonetheless. So given her above explanation, perhaps this is all meant to be a soliloquy, i.e. the addressee being another, more abusive side of the vocalist’s persona.
