"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Leaving the City" by Joanna Newsom. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: contemplative, introspective, melancholic, transcendent. 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."
Real momentum, more energetic than 81% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for dinner.
85
BPM
Leaving the City by Joanna Newsom is 85 BPM — Andante (walking pace).
Half-time 43 BPM · Double-time 170 BPM · released 2015
Fan image for "Leaving the City"
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.
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Song DNA
Notes: Complex vocal delivery with extended phrases and minimal breathing creates an immersive, flowing narrative. Instrumental textures include unconventional instruments like celesta and marxophone that contribute to an ethereal, intricate soundscape.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release meditation
A lyrical folk composition featuring Joanna Newsom's characteristic dense, essay-length narrative about departure and transformation, with a climactic vocal range shift.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: contemplative, introspective, melancholic, transcendent
Traditions: art pop, experimental, folk
Volume Warning
"Leaving the City" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. Joanna Newsom built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 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: present. This song uses surprise as a feature. For focus or background listening, it's likely to pull your attention away; for active listening, that's often the point.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is low — this song does not follow standard verse-chorus form closely, and rewards active listening more than passive listening.
Vocal style: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in Joanna Newsom's catalog
We have 16 songs from Joanna Newsom in the library. Of those, 1 are rated Safe, 14 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.4, making it the #6 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
Other tracks from Divers
We have 5 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.
- Sapokanikan — moderate DR 7
- Divers — moderate DR 6
- Anecdotes — moderate DR 6
- Time, As a Symptom — moderate DR 7
2015 context
Released in 2015. We have 373 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.3/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Karma Police: Radiohead’s Eerie Joke About Power and Paranoia
Karma Police began as a band in-joke and became one of Radiohead’s defining songs — a queasy meditat…
How fast is "Leaving the City"?
85 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 85 BPM.
When "Leaving the City" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
✗
Running / workout
No — 85 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
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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The major-equals-happy minor-equals-sad rule falls apart in five minutes of real listening. What actually predicts a song's emotional weight…
Every Big Thief album ranked by emotional excavation
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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
61/100 intensity
See how “Leaving the City” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-15. 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
This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 81% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 61/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 81% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Unsolved Mysteries — Animal Collective · 98%Birthday Pony — Fugazi · 98%Polly — Nirvana · 95%Have Mercy — Lee "Scratch" Perry · 95%
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
Sleep0/10
Focus3/10
Workout4/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype5/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2015 in context
The 373 songs we’ve measured from 2015 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity61
Dynamics67
Tempo25
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load38
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Leaving the City"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Leaving the City" by Joanna Newsom?
"Leaving the City" by Joanna Newsom has a tempo of 85 BPM (Andante (walking pace)). At half-time that is 43 BPM, and at double-time 170 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Leaving the City" by Joanna Newsom?
"Leaving the City" by Joanna Newsom rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, moderate sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Leaving the City" — what is its dynamic range?
"Leaving the City" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Leaving the City" have sudden or surprising changes?
Yes. "Leaving the City" uses surprise as a compositional feature. Expect unsignaled transitions.
What is "Leaving the City" best for?
In our library "Leaving the City" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release, meditation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Leaving the City" released?
"Leaving the City" is from 2015, on the album "Divers". It appears in our 2010s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Leaving the City"?
We tag "Leaving the City" as contemplative, introspective, melancholic, transcendent. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Leaving the City"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "Leaving the City" good for running?
Not really — at 85 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "Leaving the City" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Leaving the City" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Leaving the City"?
"Leaving the City" 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.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
What this song means to people
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.