LaRocque started off his career as a musician in the Swedish hard rock band Swedish Beauty that would later switch its name to Swedish Erotica. He has also played on the quintessential American death metal band Death's 1993 album Individual Thought Patterns and on the Swedish thrash metal band Illwill's album Evilution (1998) along with former Mercyful Fate members.
LaRocque contributed a guitar solo to the Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates' track "Cold" featured on the 1995 album Slaughter of the Soul. Producer Fredrik Nordström was the one responsible for the idea, and telephoned LaRocque. At the Gates' lead guitarist Anders Björler gave LaRocque an audio cassette recording of the song. The tape played at the wrong speed at LaRocque's house, so LaRocque had to transcribe the recording. Two days after receiving the cassette, LaRocque laid down a guitar solo for the song within half an hour. Björler described the solo as "great," and in a November, 2007 interview, LaRocque had admitted the he still couldn't play the solo "properly."
He can also be heard on other projects as well, such as Falconer's 2002 Chapters from a Vale Forlorn, where he performed lead guitars on the song "]Busted to the Floor".
LaRocque is also a well-known producer. He used to own a studio called the Los Angered Recordings in Angered, Sweden back in the '90s, where he recorded many albums for various artists. In 2007, LaRocque moved the studio to Varberg, Sweden where he currently resides and renamed it to Sonic Train Studios. There he keeps producing for various artists to this day.
Sleepless Nights
Andy LaRocque Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what the day is for anyway
And as the clock strikes midnight
I hear them dancing at the graves
Singing to my mind
Killing the pain . . . sleepless nights . . . sleepless nights
I cannot sleep at night
That's what the day is for anyway
Only they can let us meet
Even though she's dead now
I gotta see her again . . . sleepless nights . . . sleepless nights
I cannot sleep at night
I will do anything to see missy again
Then let us make you an eternal deal
You will attend to the graves
You'll give us the house back and keep in mind
That we only come here at night.
So we made the deal under the starry night and
Amon belongs to them now . . .
I feel the dawn coming my way
And as the sun breaks up the dark
I can't hear them dance no more
There's no voices
Killing the pain . . . pain . . . pain
The song "Sleepless Nights" by Andy LaRocque is about insomnia and the supernatural. The singer cannot sleep at night, which is what the day is for anyway, and as the clock strikes midnight, he hears dancing and singing at the graves. The voices are killing the pain of the sleepless nights. The singer wants to see Missy again even though she is dead now, and the only way to do this is to make a deal with the supernatural entities. The deal involves attending to the graves, giving them the house back, and keeping in mind that they only come here at night.
The lyrics convey a sense of desperation and longing for the supernatural to provide a solution to the singer's insomnia and desire to see Missy again. The references to graves and dancing at night with voices killing the pain suggest that the supernatural entities may be ghosts or spirits. The deal with the supernatural entities implies that there are consequences for dealing with the supernatural.
In summary, the song "Sleepless Nights" by Andy LaRocque is a haunting portrayal of insomnia and the supernatural. The singer makes a deal with supernatural entities to see Missy again, but there are consequences to such a bargain.
Line by Line Meaning
I cannot sleep at night
I am plagued by insomnia
That's what the day is for anyway
Sleep is meant to be had during the day
And as the clock strikes midnight
At the dark and ominous hour of midnight
I hear them dancing at the graves
I hear the sounds of the dead rising from their graves to dance
Singing to my mind
Their eerie singing bewitches me
Killing the pain . . . sleepless nights . . . sleepless nights
Their singing relieves me of the pain of sleepless nights
Even though she's dead now
Despite the fact that Missy has passed on
I gotta see her again . . . sleepless nights . . . sleepless nights
I yearn to see her so badly I cannot sleep
I will do anything to see missy again
I am willing to do anything to be reunited with Missy
Then let us make you an eternal deal
The dead offer me an everlasting bargain
You will attend to the graves
I must tend to the graves of the dead forevermore
You'll give us the house back and keep in mind
I must surrender ownership of my home while remembering their agreement
That we only come here at night.
The dead will only visit me while the moon is high
So we made the deal under the starry night and
We reached an accord under the heavens
Amon belongs to them now . . .
The price of the deal is the relinquishing of my soul to the dead
I feel the dawn coming my way
Daybreak is approaching
And as the sun breaks up the dark
As the sunlight disperses the darkness
I can't hear them dance no more
I can no longer hear the dead dancing
There's no voices
All is silent now
Killing the pain . . . pain . . . pain
The absence of their singing brings back the pain of sleepless nights
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY LA ROCQUE, KIM BENDIX PETERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Weasel Fart
Dude that was amazing!
Luís Guedes
Thank you very much. All credit goes to Andy. Very underrated!
DiMitRu
THE solo!
AbrahamQ
F... amazing dude!!!
Luís Guedes
Thank you very much!
diabeticmonkey
Your phrasing is impeccably tasty
Luís Guedes
Thank you very much. You made my day with that comment!
diabeticmonkey
@Luís Guedes Of course, man. I love your playing