Starting Butterfly 3000 is “Yours,” a bright and cheery synth-pop song about finding comfort and security in someone else. While Stu said in a Stereogum interview that the album is written from the perspective of the Greek God Morpheus, the focus of “Yours” is up to interpretation. With allusions to “The Wheel” as well as many lyrics describing the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the song sets up the album while giving it a place within the band’s canon.
Stu said that the band took a different approach when tackling both “Yours” and, by extension, Butterfly 3000 as a whole. “It needed to feel bright and welcoming and warm because we’ve made a lot of dark records. We’ve made a lot of scary ones…”
In the aforementioned Stereogum interview, he said “We were trying to make something that felt less pessimistic. So much of our music is pessimistic, even if it is in a fast tempo. We lean on dark textures a lot. I find it a lot more challenging to write music that’s bright. It just doesn’t come naturally to me. And I suppose that was the challenge with this record. Maybe someone else could explain why an acoustic guitar sounds emotionally brighter rather than electric. I’m not sure why that is, but it just feels more innocent.”
The final version of the song features only Stu (synthesizer/vocals/Mellotron/acoustic guitar/bass/guitar/drums), Ambrose (percussion, vocals, harmonica) and Cavs (drums). On June 10th, 2021, “Yours'' appeared in a Butterfly 3000 promotional video showcasing the album’s vinyl pressings. The song was released on June 11th, 2021 with a full album video filmed at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles released on the 24th. In the video Gizz with the program, the song can be heard in the pressing plant.
On June 7th, the band uploaded a short teaser for Butterfly 3000 featuring two orange balls and a song later titled “Kelebek.” The orbs would later be seen in John Angus Stewarts’ music video for “Yours”, released on June 14th, 2021. It features the band in blue and silver coats and jackets at a variety of locations in Melbourne (Rooftop Bar, Eureka 89, The Bottom End, Melbourne Aquarium and Panda Hot Pot). The video features a number of fast forward shots that were representative of a butterfly’s movement. This was achieved through the use of 16mm film. Stewart explained to It’s Nice That that the video was meant to be both light and dark: “I wanted to make something that on the surface felt bright and hopeful, but at its core had an inherent darkness. Like a rotten apple with a shiny skin.”
The video was shot before a COVID-19 lockdown, which seemed to influence the creative process behind it. In the PHC Films book Book 1, there is a photo of a filming schedule for “Yours” that shows it was originally meant to be shot in two days. Day one would have been the aquarium and time-lapse shots, while the second day would involve everything else — including shots in a museum and planetarium which were ultimately cut from the video. John Angus Stewart said “it was like eight locations in one day. So yeah, it was fun, but it was also fucking hell. Which in my opinion all shoots should be. One shot of fun topped with anxiety, and a few beers at the end. There isn’t really a bad time you can have with your best mates though.”
In Gizzymail 17, Stu wrote “was super fun to shoot (and eat) this. Thanks to Max and Euan for making this happen in a superbug world. Thanks to Ash and Maree for keeping those shots smooth. Thanks to Bella for the grade (it looks fucked). Thanks to Jamie and Tim for the dope stillssss. AND JOHN for dreaming this up!”
A print of the music video was sold by PHC the same month it was released and it would later be featured on the Blu-Ray Butterfly 3000: Ocular Edition.
The video would be referenced on the poster for 2022-04-19.
“Yours” was given a single remix on the album Butterfly 3001. The “Fred P Journey Mix” is nearly twelve minutes long with delayed vocals, ambient synths and a driving bass line that the percussion builds from. It is the longest remix from the project.
The song has never been played live. In an Instagram story from July 1st, 2024, the song’s title was seen on the band’s synth setup, hinting at a possible live debut.