During the mid 90s Anohni started solo; after originally producing songs with Blacklips Performance Cult and other late-night cabarets she had a number of songs to work with. In 1995 she assembled a backing group—the self-styled Antony and the Johnsons—and began to focus on the musical side of her performances. The group built up a cult following at hip New York clubs such as the Kitchen and Knitting Factory. Anohni then received a NYFA for “performance art/emergent forms” which she used to record the Johnsons' debut album “Blue Angel”, that remained unreleased until Current 93 leader David Tibet signed Antony and the Johnsons to his Durtro label. The cast list of musicians on the album, released under the title "Antony and the Johnsons" in 1998, included Baby Dee (harp), Francois Gehin (bass), Todd Cohen (drums), Charles Neilson (guitar), and a number of string and woodwind players. This album later were reissued in 2000 and in 2004 by Secretly Canadian.
This collection of modern torch songs highlighted Anohni's soulful, multi-octave vocals and the Johnsons' graceful chamber pop arrangements, reaching a peak on "Cripple And The Starfish" and "Divine", the latter a tribute to the late transvestite movie star. Further recordings by Antony and the Johnsons emerged in the early years of the new millennium, including "I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy" and a shared EP “Live at St. Olave's” with Current 93, recorded live at Saint Olave's Church in London, England.
In early 2001 released 3 song EP "I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy", included covers of Mysteries of Love (Appeared originally on the film Blue Velvet) and Soft Black Stars.
Split EP included two new songs from the Johnsons, the first being You Stand Above Me, only one minute and thirty-six seconds long but containing all the melancholy and drama one would expect from the Johnsons. The other new track was The Lake which was an 1827 poem written by Edgar Allan Poe beautifully adapted to song. The Johnsons appear with Current 93 again on a 7”, with side B including the song Virgin Mary. This was limited to 500 copies, both released May 12th, 2003. By now the line-up of the Johnsons featured Todd Cohen, Jeff Langston (bass), Jason Hart (piano), Julia Kent (cello), Joan Wasser (violin), and Maxim Moston (violin).
It was around this time that Lou Reed heard the “I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy” EP. Reed then recruited Anohni for her album The Raven for guest vocals and took her on tour in 2003 which meant that Anohni appeared on Lou’s live album Animal Serenade. With the band now attracting wider attention, Anohni and the Johnsons signed to US based label Secretly Canadian. Secretly Canadian then reissued the band's debut to a wider audience in the USA.
The Lake was released the following year through the new label. It’s another 3 song EP including "The Lake" - Lou Reed appeared on Fistful of Love with guest vocals and guitar. The Horror Has Gone seems to be Anohni expressing the end of a depressing phase in her life, a positive lyrical change from her debut style.
In February 2005 Antony and the Johnsons released their second full length, I Am A Bird Now. It has guest appearances from Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart, Lou Reed and Boy George. It went on to receive great critical acclaim in the UK and won Anohni the Technics Mercury Music Prize for 2005.
In 2006 Anohni appeared in the Leonard Cohen tribute concert and subsequent film "I'm Your Man." Her performance of "If It Be Your Will" is perhaps the highlight of the film.
The 5-song Another World EP was released on October 7, 2008. As promised, it shows a mixture of continuation of earlier songs' atmosphere as well as more experimental work. Antony and the Johnsons' third album, "The Crying Light", was released on January 19, 2009. This was followed by "Swanlights" in October, 2010. Both of these latter albums are less melodic and more experimental in nature the Anohni's earlier work and have met with critical acclaim yet little commercial success.
http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/
For Today I Am a Boy
Antony and the Johnsons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl
One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman
One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl
But for today I am a child
For today I am a boy
For today I am a child
One day I'll grow up, I'll feel the power in me
One day I'll grow up, of this I'm sure
One day I'll grow up, I know a womb within me
One day I'll grow up, feel it full and pure
But for today I am a child
For today I am a boy
For today I am a child
For today I am a boy
For today I am a child
For today I am a boy
For today I am a child
For today I am a boy
For today I am a child (for today)
For today I am a boy (for today)
For today I am a child (for today)
For today I am a boy (for today)
The song "For Today I Am a Boy" by Antony and the Johnsons explores the theme of gender identity and the struggle to align one's internal sense of self with external societal expectations. The opening lines of the song depict the artist envisioning a future where they are a beautiful woman or girl, suggesting a desire to conform to normative gender standards. Yet, the repetition of the same phrase indicates a sense of uncertainty and unattainability in this image. The artist then reverts back to identifying as a child and a boy, a more fluid and undefined state of being that allows for exploration and curiosity.
As the song progresses, the artist describes a sense of power and potential within themselves that they know is there, but not yet fully realized. The line "I know a womb within me, feel it full and pure" is particularly poignant, as it suggests a desire for motherhood or a maternal instinct that may not fit within traditional masculine ideals. Yet, the artist is still tethered to their current state of being as a child and a boy.
Overall, "For Today I Am a Boy" portrays the complexity and nuance of gender identity, highlighting the tension between personal desires and societal norms. The repetition of the refrain emphasizes the temporal nature of identity, reflecting the idea that one's sense of self can be fluid and constantly evolving.
Line by Line Meaning
One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman
One day, I will mature and become a beautiful adult woman.
One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl
One day, I will mature and become a beautiful girl.
But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy
Even though I will eventually become an adult woman, today I am still a child and identify as a boy.
One day I'll grow up, I'll feel the power in me
When I am an adult, I will have a sense of inner strength and capability.
One day I'll grow up, of this I'm sure
I am confident that I will eventually grow up and mature.
One day I'll grow up, I know a womb within me
As a woman, I will have the potential to bear children and have a womb.
One day I'll grow up, feel it full and pure
I will experience the fullness and purity of the potential within me as a woman when I am older.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy
Even though I have potential as a woman, today I identify as a child and a boy.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy
I want to be acknowledged as a child and a boy in this moment.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy
It is important for me to express my identity as a child and a boy as of today.
For today I am a child, for today I am a boy
Today, I identify as a child and a boy and want to be treated that way.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Anohni Hegarty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind