He started his production career working in his own studio, Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. He worked with a number of local bands, most notably Martha and the Muffins, for whom his sister Jocelyne played bass, Ray Materick, as well as the Canadian children's singer Raffi.
After being discovered by Brian Eno and working collaboratively with him on some of Eno's own projects, his career was given a huge boost when Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album The Unforgettable Fire. Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's The Joshua Tree, the 1987 Grammy Winner for Album of the Year. Bono of U2 recommended Lanois to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s; in 1989 Lanois produced Dylan's Oh Mercy, widely considered one of Dylan's greatest later albums. Eight years later Dylan and Lanois worked together on Time Out of Mind, Dylan's first studio album of original material since 1990, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997.
Wrecking Ball, his 1995 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, received almost unanimous critical praise (many critics placed the album on their year-end "best albums of the year" lists), and revived the aging country artist's career, bringing her to the attention of much younger rock audiences.
As well as being a producer, singer and songwriter, Daniel Lanois plays the guitar, pedal steel and drums. His desire is to bring out the best in the artists he works with and produces, with his wide range of talents and musical ideas. He often leaves an atmospheric and emotionally resonant sound on the projects he produces, which some say has become his 'signature sound'.
Daniel founded Red Floor Records to release his own music albums and DVD films that he sells direct to consumers from his website in high resolution downloads and traditional formats: www.DanielLanois.com
After completing production work on U2's latest album "No Line In The Horizon" in 2009, Daniel has built a new recording studio in Toronto, which he has named "The Temple", as it is located on the site of a former Buddhist Temple. He recently completed producing Neil Young's latest 2010 release, "Le Noise". However, on June 5th, 2010, while working on Young's album, Daniel was in a serious motorcycle accident near his Silver Lake area home of Los Angeles, and he had to postpone his latest personal priority project, Black Dub which features Daniel on guitars, world renown drummer/percussionist Brian Blade, bassist and harmony vocalist Daryl Johnson, and lead vocalist/keyboardist Trixie Whitley (the daughter of the late Chris Whitley).
Black Dub have been signed to Jive Records and they are expected to commence a world tour in early 2011 supporting their debut self titled release, and they are currently doing special engagements throughout November and early December 2010 across the USA.
Daniel has recently written an autobiographical memoir entitled "Soul Mining, A Musical Life" that can be pre-ordered and is expected to be officially released through traditional book store channels in late November 2010.
Under a Stormy Sky
Daniel Lanois Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
Papa, y'a vendu la terre, la terre et la vache
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
Jean-Paul, il joue le violon, le bel accordéon,
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
I hear the whipperwhill cry
Sugar Hill, snowy white
Big blue siren in the night
Come here, eh we go,
Under a stormy sky.
I hear them changing gears
The diesel turning, calling you and me
To the city of steel, smokestack spinning wheel
Come with me, eh under a stormy sky.
My heart is sad to leave Sugartown
Goodbye sugar hill, on the stormy night
Eh, danse avec moi ce soir au fais dodo
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky
Under a stormy sky, under a stormy sky.
The song “Under A Stormy Sky” by Daniel Lanois is a hauntingly beautiful tune that tells the story of leaving home and moving on. The lyrics are a mixture of English and French, giving them a unique flavor that sets them apart from typical English-language songs. The song starts with an invitation to dance, asking for the listener's company under a stormy sky. The following lines contain a conversation between a father and his child about selling the land, the cow, and leaving Sugartown.
The song continues, describing the passage from the countryside to the city, with the sound of the whipperwhill and the blue heron's flight. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the landscape and its tonal shifts. The song's central message is that even in the face of change and loss, the heart can find a way to keep dancing. The songwriters use the metaphor of dancing to convey that one must keep moving forward despite the challenges faced.
Line by Line Meaning
Eh bébé, danse avec moi, ce soir au fais dodo
Come dance with me tonight before going to bed
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
Let's dance under the rain and strong wind
Papa, y'a vendu la terre, la terre et la vache
Dad sold the land, the land and the cow
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
Let's dance under the rain and strong wind
Jean-Paul, il joue le violon, le bel accordéon
Jean-Paul plays the violin, the beautiful accordion
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky.
Let's dance under the rain and strong wind
I hear the whipperwhill cry
I can hear the cry of the Whip-poor-will bird
I see the blue heron fly over
I can see the Blue Heron bird flying above
Sugar Hill, snowy white
The Sugar Hill looks snowy white
Big blue siren in the night
A loud siren in the night, possibly from a nearby factory
Come here, eh we go,
Come with me
Under a stormy sky.
We will be under a stormy sky
I hear them changing gears
I can hear the sound of gears being changed
The diesel turning, calling you and me
The sound of a diesel engine is calling us to go somewhere
To the city of steel, smokestack spinning wheel
We are going to the steel city, where the smokestack is spinning like a wheel
Come with me, eh under a stormy sky.
Come with me under the rain and strong wind
My heart is sad to leave Sugartown
I feel sad to leave Sugartown
Goodbye sugar hill, on the stormy night
Goodbye Sugar Hill, on this stormy night
Eh, danse avec moi ce soir au fais dodo
Come dance with me tonight before going to bed
Danse avec moi bébé, under a stormy sky
Let's dance under the rain and strong wind
Under a stormy sky, under a stormy sky.
We will be under a stormy sky
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DANIEL LANOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Angela Gak
One of my fave songs of all time. It's just SO fun!
sababs
i can't help but smile when listening to this song
handymandan2k
This song is such sweet release after the rather moody (but very cool) track before it on the album. I love seeing the French lyrics written out... it will make me able to sing them more accurately :)
Silver STONE
Fabulous guitar, great voice!
Shilo Haapala
This song is beautiful!
Madeleine Hague
"Acadie" is one of my favourite albums. Unique - so many kinds of sounds.
olivier muller
+Madeleine Hague
Vive le Québec Libre ! Ah ah
Madeleine Hague
+olivier muller - Daniel Lanois is from Hamilton, Ontario. He has no political leanings for or against QC separation....he's a musician!
Barbara Lee
When I traveled India I took this album with me. Grand memories driving through the tea hills blasting this song.... Took Robbie Robertson and the Red Band... omgosh was wonderful stuff!
Darren P
One of my all time favorites.
This and Michael Penn's March