Agnes Obel was born Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel in 1981. Living in Copenhagen, and coming from a musician family, Agnes Obel learned piano at a very young age. Her mother used to play Bartók and Chopin at the piano. During her childhood, Agnes Obel found inspiration in Jan Johansson's work. Johansson's songs, European folk tunes done in a jazzy style, have influenced the young musician a lot.
She attended high school at Det frie Gymnasium and university at Roskilde University.
At the age of seven, Agnes Obel worked in a little band where she used to sing and play bass guitar. The group appeared in a festival and even recorded some titles.
Later, and with the help of Danish musician and producer Elton Theander, Obel founded the Copenhagen based band Sohio. After few years of collaboration, Obel debuted as a solo singer with her first album Philharmonics (2010).
Agnes Obel writes, plays, sings, records and produces all her material herself.
She is influenced by artists such as Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, PJ Harvey and also by the French composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Eric Satie.
Obel lives in Berlin.
Website: http://agnesobel.com
Dorian
Agnes Obel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So we both can pretend
It's written on the mountains
A line that never ends
As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor
And the pieces broke and the people wanted more
And the rugged wheel is turning another round
Dorian, carry on
Will you come along to the end?
Will you ever let us carry on?
Swaying like the children
Singled out for praise
The inside out on the open
With the straightest face
As the sad-eyed woman spoke we missed our chance
The final dying joke caught in our hands
And the rugged wheel is turning another round
Dorian, carry on
Will you come along to the end?
Will you ever let us carry on?
Oh, Dorian, carry on
Will you come along to the end?
Will you ever let us carry on?
Dorian, will you follow us down?
The lyrics of Agnes Obel's song Dorian appear to be about the desire to escape reality and pretend to be someone else. The first few lines suggest that the two people in question are trying to hide their real identities from the world. They both seem to be searching for something that they haven't yet found but are hopeful to discover. The line "It's written on the mountains, a line that never ends" conveys the idea that they live in a world that is both vast and endless.
The lines "As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor, and the pieces broke and the people wanted more, and the rugged wheel is turning another round" have a haunting quality to them. They seem to suggest that the people in the song are taking part in something that is dangerous and not quite right. The reference to the "rugged wheel" turning another round hints at the cyclical nature of life and the difficulty of breaking free from certain patterns. The lyrics "Oh, Dorian, carry on, will you come along to the end? Will you ever let us carry on?" could be interpreted as a plea for someone to lead the way to a better place.
The song may also be making some kind of reference to Oscar Wilde's classic novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray." The main character, Dorian Gray, is described as being beautiful, charming, and morally corrupt. The song's lyrics could be asking someone like Dorian Gray to lead them out of the darkness and into the light. Ultimately, the song seems to be about the desire to escape from reality and find a new and better one.
Line by Line Meaning
They won't know who we are
We can both pretend to be someone else without anyone finding out our true identity.
So we both can pretend
We can both act a part without revealing our true selves.
It's written on the mountains
There is a noticeable pattern or truth that cannot be erased or ignored, just like how something written on mountains cannot be easily erased.
A line that never ends
This pattern or truth is continuous and unending, like an eternal line.
As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor
When we succumbed to temptation, we fell apart and became vulnerable.
And the pieces broke and the people wanted more
We shattered into pieces, but the people around us kept asking for more, despite our brokenness.
And the rugged wheel is turning another round
Life goes on despite our struggles and hardships, the cycle of life never stops.
Dorian, carry on
Dorian, keep going despite the difficulties.
Will you come along to the end?
Will you continue with us until the very end?
Will you ever let us carry on?
Will you allow us to continue, despite everything?
Swaying like the children
We are moving back and forth like children playfully swaying.
Singled out for praise
We are receiving positive attention as if we are being recognized for achieving something significant.
The inside out on the open
Our innermost selves are being exposed to the public, like our emotional states are laid bare in the open for all to see.
With the straightest face
We are trying to conceal our true emotions, by keeping a perfectly straight face despite everything.
As the sad-eyed woman spoke we missed our chance
We lost an opportunity when a woman who looked sad spoke to us but we failed to catch what she was saying.
The final dying joke caught in our hands
We held onto something that was fleeting, like a final dying joke, but we were not quick enough to grasp the moment.
Dorian, will you follow us down?
Dorian, will you come with us to the depths, no matter how low we go?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vana659
"Dorian"
They won't know who we are
So we both can pretend
It's written on the mountains
A line that never ends
As the devil spoke we spilled out on the floor
And the pieces broke and the people wanted more
And the rugged wheel is turning another round
Dorian, carrion,
Will you come along to the end
Will you ever let us carry on
Swaying like the children,
Singled out for praise
The inside out on the open
With the straightest face
As the sad-eyed woman spoke we missed our chance,
The final dying joke caught in our hands
And the rugged wheel is turning another round
Dorian, carrion,
Will you come along to the end
Will you ever let us carry on
Dorian, carrion,
Will you come along to the end
Will you ever let us carry on
Dorian, will you follow us down
@thephotogod257
Dark introduced me to Agnes and I'm forever grateful. Absolutely beautiful, ethereal music.
@user-nf9mh2so1z
Me too, now i like all songs of Agnes Obel.
@arah2368
Yeah. Same here.
@chloe-sy5ue
Me tooooo!
@melvaughn29
If you like Agnes, check out Soley. Another similar kind of artist.
@isaacv6960
YES, thanks to the series Dark, I too came to hear of Agnes! I'm a fan!
@ddxjon
2020 under isolation... found peace with this music.
@michl4914
Same 👍
@ritapacheco8059
Same!
@lcgiroux
Me too!!!