Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a Venezuelan American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Banhart released his debut album in 2002, continuing to record his material on the Young God and XL labels, as well as other work on compilations and collaborations.
Banhart was born May 30, 1981 in Houston, Texas, to a Venezuelan mother and an American father, Robert Gary Banhart. His given name is a synonym for Indra, the king of Gods (Hindu), which was suggested by Prem Rawat, an Indian religious leader whom Banhart's parents followed. Banhart's middle name Obi was modeled after Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Star Wars character. Banhart's parents divorced two years after his birth and he moved with his mother to Caracas, Venezuela. His mother later remarried and Banhart's stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, when Banhart was 14 years old.
Water may walk
Daughter may walk
Mother may walk
Father may walk
Marth fell asleep in a perfect fire
Water in hands
Mother in hands
Brother in hands
Held in the hands
Of one million bending bones
I know it's name
You know it's name
Never above
Never above
One thousand mending moans
The fire inside
The silver inside
The hollow inside
The echo inside
The red setting sun inside
The earth has its eyes
The sea has eyes too
Brown mother eyes
Blue mother blue
And eyes are the stems of space
Mother may grow
Daughter may grow
Father may grow
And swallow the seed
Of trees in the chest of my mind
I've got some to give
I've like to give some
Love will still live
When our time is done