She supposedly declared that at a very young age she decided that she would be an actress, singer, musician and dancer, most preferably all at the same time. She studied classical piano, but practically hated her education. She enrolled at the age of 17 at the art-school Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp. In her third year there she made a solo-programme with songs of her own, alone at the piano. Shortly after she became known to a moderately wide audience in 1996 when she entered Humo’s Rock Rally with a tape of her own version of Are 'Friends' Electric?, originally sung by Tubeway Army. The song ended up on Random, a tribute album to Gary Numan (of the Tubeway Army), who says he was impressed by An's version.
After this, An toured for two years with a theatre group, and starred in a Belgium television series ("Moeder, waarom leven wij"), gave a few solo performances and collaborated with DAAU on their song "Broken", where she sings all of the vocals.
In 1998 she signed a record deal with Warner Music Benelux. This resulted in her first album titled Mud Stories, completely in singer-songwriter fashion. Most of the album was recorded on electric piano in the winter of 1998 and 1999 in the attic of a theatre in Gent. The extra acoustic piano parts were done in the spring of 1999. This resulted in a range of songs with very little production. It’s basically just An and her piano (and accordion, occasionally). Mud Stories speaks to the mind with complex lyrics and professional piano play, which misled the press (especially the Dutch) into comparing her with Tori Amos, much to An's surprise. An herself said that her music was not at all influenced by Tori Amos, but rather by John Cale and classical music. The record sold over 25,000 copies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Even though the Dutch press didn't give her good reviews, she managed to sell a lot of albums, possibly because of her extensive touring and appearing at a few big festivals.
In 2002 An Pierlé released her second record, Helium Sunset. Unlike the previous album, this album was also released outside of the Benelux and France. The sound of Helium Sunset moves away from the dark, gloomy solo performance to a more enriched band feel, with expanded drums, cello and other instruments. Her lyrical style remains of highly poetic and complex level.
Following the release of Helium Sunset was a live album named Live Jetset with Orchestra, an album with back up from a full orchestra. The album was apparently very limited in release numbers and sold out pretty quickly.
An Pierlé and band released the album An Pierlé & White Velvet in early May 2006. An and the band are now also performing under the same name. As of late April 2006, the first single named "How does it feel" was already available for download in online stores.
An Pierlé is involved in a romantic relationship with her guitarist, Koen Gisen.
tenderness
An Pierlé Lyrics
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You can't imagine what to do when this is done
Did you expect to see
That you're still nowhere near finding the best of me
You've been unable to dream
You've been unable to see
If there's no tenderness
You don't give up when life gets tough
You can't imagine what you'll do when the sea gets rough
'Cause if the big black wolf is surely going to come
You can't just mess things up then pray you've done nothing wrong
You've been unable to dream
You've been unable to feel
If there's no tenderness
You've been unable to dream
You've been unable to see
If there's no tenderness
If there's no tenderness
The lyrics of An Pierlé's song Tenderness speak to the perseverance required in life when things get tough. The first two lines of the song, "You can't retreat when life goes wrong, you can't imagine what to do when this is done" suggest that life is not always easy and there are times when it feels like everything is falling apart. However, the song encourages the listener to keep moving forward and not give up. The line "Did you expect to see that you're still nowhere near finding the best of me" suggests that even in difficult times, there is still potential to achieve greatness.
The second verse of the song continues with the theme of perseverance in tough times. The line "You don't give up when life gets tough, you can't imagine what you'll do when the sea gets rough" speaks to the idea that during tough times it can be difficult to see a path forward, but it is important to keep going. The line "If there's no tenderness" suggests that tenderness is an important aspect of life that can help get us through difficult times. Tenderness can be a source of comfort and support in difficult times.
Overall, Tenderness is a song that speaks to the perseverance required in life when things get tough. The lyrics encourage the listener to keep moving forward and not give up, even when it seems like everything is falling apart. The song emphasizes the importance of tenderness as a source of comfort and support in difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
You can't retreat when life goes wrong
Don't run away when life gets difficult
You can't imagine what to do when this is done
You don't know what to do when the problem is resolved
Did you expect to see That you're still nowhere near finding the best of me
You might not have expected to find out that there is more to me than you realized
You've been unable to dream
You can't even imagine
You've been unable to see
You can't recognize
If there's no tenderness
Without kindness and empathy
You don't give up when life gets tough
Never lose hope in difficult times
You can't imagine what you'll do when the sea gets rough
You can't prepare for everything in life
'Cause if the big black wolf is surely going to come
If a disaster is inevitable
You can't just mess things up then pray you've done nothing wrong
We must be responsible for our actions
If there's no tenderness
Without compassion and sensitivity
You've been unable to feel
You can't experience
If there's no tenderness
Without love and kindness
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.