Barefoot in the Park

James Blake
Assume Form (2019)
Moderate 80 BPM
AI-analyzed — check another song
Easy, low-key calm, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
80
BPM

Barefoot in the Park by James Blake is 80 BPM — Andante (walking pace).

Half-time 40 BPM · Double-time 160 BPM · released 2019

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Fan image for "Barefoot in the Park"

An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.

Fan-driven abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of Barefoot in the Park by James Blake
The prompt that made this image Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: intimate, reflective, warm. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format.

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"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: intimate, reflective, warm. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."

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Song DNA

Dynamic Range6/10
Sudden Changesmild
Texturelayered
Predictabilitymedium
Vocal Stylesoft vocals
Notes: The song features a soothing blend of soft vocals and layered instrumentation, creating an intimate atmosphere. The gentle dynamics and melodic shifts evoke a sense of warmth and reflection.

Misophonia Triggers

Mouth Soundsnone
Percussive Clicksmild
Breathing Soundsmild
Repetitive Micro-soundsnone

An easygoing, settled feel. It’s fairly predictable, with a shape you can follow. It moves moderately between quiet and loud with only a few mild shifts, layered in texture, with soft, gentle vocals on top at an unhurried mid-tempo. Against the 19,209 songs we’ve measured, it sits more energetic than 27% of songs, calmer than the rest.

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Moods: intimate, reflective, warm

Traditions: electronic, soul

At a glance

"Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake

80 BPM, dynamic range 6/10, layered texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.

How this song sits on each sensory axis

A dynamic range of 6/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.

Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.

Predictability is medium — conventional structure overall, with one or two moments that deviate from what you'd expect.

Vocal style: soft vocals.

Where this sits in James Blake's catalog

We have 31 songs from James Blake in the library. Of those, 2 are rated Safe, 29 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits below the artist average of 6.7, making it the #30 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.

Other tracks from Assume Form

We have 6 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.

2019 context

Released in 2019. We have 448 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.1/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.

Explore by mood and tradition

Moods
intimate · 2271reflective · 5797warm · 1489
Traditions
electronic · 920soul · 787

Guides that may help

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How fast is "Barefoot in the Park"?

80 BPM — Slow (downtempo / ballad)

For running

Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.

For workouts

Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.

For daily life

Morning coffee, deep work, commute wind-down.

Browse more songs at 80 BPM.

When "Barefoot in the Park" works, and when it doesn't

Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.

~
Focus / studying

Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.

✗
Running / workout

No — 80 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.

✗
Sleep / winding down

No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.

✓
Driving / road trip

Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.

✓
Cooking / dinner background

Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.

~
Emotional release / catharsis

Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.

Related reading

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Why this rating

We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.

This song in the Music Studio
38/100 intensity

See how “Barefoot in the Park” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.

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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-17. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.

Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 27% of songs, calmer than the other 73%. Its intensity reading of 38/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft vocals. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 85% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep6/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype2/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

2019 in context

The 448 songs we’ve measured from 2019 average a dynamic range of 6.1/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity38
Dynamics56
Tempo22
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force25
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Frequently asked about "Barefoot in the Park"

Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.

What is the BPM of "Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake?

"Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake has a tempo of 80 BPM (Andante (walking pace)). At half-time that is 40 BPM, and at double-time 160 BPM.

What is the sensory intensity of "Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake?

"Barefoot in the Park" by James Blake rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 6/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.

How loud is "Barefoot in the Park" — what is its dynamic range?

"Barefoot in the Park" has a dynamic range of 6/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.

Does "Barefoot in the Park" have sudden or surprising changes?

"Barefoot in the Park" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

What is "Barefoot in the Park" best for?

In our library "Barefoot in the Park" is recommended for: emotional release, meditation, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.

When was "Barefoot in the Park" released?

"Barefoot in the Park" is from 2019, on the album "Assume Form". It appears in our 2010s catalog.

What is the emotional mood of "Barefoot in the Park"?

We tag "Barefoot in the Park" as intimate, reflective, warm. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.

What is the vocal style of "Barefoot in the Park"?

The vocal style is soft vocals.

Is "Barefoot in the Park" good for running?

Not really — at 80 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.

Is "Barefoot in the Park" good for studying?

Only partially. The song's dynamic range (6/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.

Can I use "Barefoot in the Park" for sleep?

Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.

Should I listen to "Barefoot in the Park"?

"Barefoot in the Park" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.

Songs with the same DNA

layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.

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moderate
DR 5
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DR 7
The Smudge
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safe
DR 6
Heat
50 Cent
moderate
DR 6
Hard to Get
Rick James
moderate
DR 6
Shock the Monkey
Peter Gabriel
moderate
DR 7

Safer alternatives with a similar feel

These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.

You've Got a Friend
Carole King safe
Work Song
Hozier safe
Delicate
Taylor Swift safe
Ours
Taylor Swift safe
All Night
Beyoncé safe

What this song means to people

No stories yet. Be the first.

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Where to next?

You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.

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