Having disbanded in 1998, they reunited briefly in 2005 for a world tour and reformed in 2011, releasing a new album (Anastasis) and embarking on several tours.
Dead Can Dance formed in Melbourne, Australia in August 1981 with Paul Erikson on bass guitar, Lisa Gerrard (ex-Microfilm) on vocals, Simon Monroe (Marching Girls) on drums and Brendan Perry (also of Marching Girls) on vocals and guitar. Gerrard and Perry were a couple who met as members of Melbourne's little band scene. In May 1982, the band left Monroe in Australia and moved to London, England, where they signed with alternative rock label 4AD. With the duo, the initial United Kingdom line-up were Paul Erikson and Peter Ulrich.
The group's debut album, Dead Can Dance, was released in February 1984. The artwork, which depicts a ritual mask from New Guinea, "provide a visual reinterpretation of the meaning of the name Dead Can Dance", set in a faux Greek typeface. The album featured "drum-driven, ambient guitar music with chanting, singing and howling", and fit in with the ethereal wave style of label mates Cocteau Twins. They followed with a four-track extended play, Garden of the Arcane Delights in August. AllMusic described their early work as "as goth as it gets" (despite the group themselves rejecting the label), while the EP saw them "plunging into a wider range of music and style".
A shift in sound followed for the Spleen and Ideal album, with more emphasis on strings, brass and drones being used. A quasi spiritual element also emerged on this album, notably on the opening tracks "De Profundis" and "Ascension". Its worth noting that around this time Lisa and Brendan had been doing tours of European Cathedrals, absorbing the ambience which in turn was reflected in the work.
The highlights of the bands career followed with the genre defining album Within The Realm of a Dying Sun, featuring fan favorite "Cantara", which is where the bands Arabic and World music influences began to appear, and the double whammy of "Summoning of the Muse" and "Persephone (The Gathering of Flowers)." Critics at the time were undecided about the album, mainly due to the fact that the pieces were split according to the vocals. Brendan had the first side of the album, where Lisa took over for the latter half.
The Serpent's Egg was the next album and built on the premise set by the previous album, although the album is slightly uneven in quality and a short listen at around 40 minutes. The album is redeemed by the opening and closing pieces "The Host of Seraphim", and Perry's epic "Ullyses".
For the next album Aion, the band slipped back several centuries and recreated working medieval instruments such as the Sackbut, Viol and Hurdy Gurdy for the distinctly Medieval flavor. Included on the album is "Song of the sibyl" a text from 14th century Spain and now a live favorite. Another text appears in the song "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book".
Into the Labyrinth was the follow up album and was the album that saw Brendan mastering the use of samples and synthesizers and also the album that brought the band's music to American audiences selling over a million copies worldwide. The track "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove" was played across on college radio and was instrumental in the albums success.
Spiritchaser was the seventh studio album for the band and brought about an abrupt upturn in musical style, instead of drawing on the historical past the band drew upon South American and African influences which gave the album a very rhythmic ambience. Considered by some to be the bands weakest album, it features highlights such as the percussive "Nierika" which was the most played track on American college radio for that year, and the epic 9 minute trance inducing "Indus".
A 3 CD retrospective simply called 1981-1998 was issued by 4AD and compiled a comprehensive overview of the bands career, and provided diehard fans with the only finished track from the Spiritchaser follow-up sessions called "The Lotus Eaters".
As a live band is probably where Dead Can Dance have gained their reputation. To put it simply, they were phenomenal. The concerts often featured many improvised pieces that to date have never been recorded in the studio. A live album entitled Toward the Within was released in 1994 and allowed fans unfortunate enough to have not attended concerts the chance to hear a few of these songs. A companion video/DVD of the concert was also released allowing people to see these highly ethereal concerts.
After Dead Can Dance ceased to be a functioning band both Perry and Gerrard embarked upon solo careers. To date, Brendan has released one solo album The Eye of the Hunter and has completed work on a new album, 'Ark', to be released in June 2010, whilst Lisa has been more prolific but with mixed results, releasing two solo albums The Mirror Pool and The Silver Tree. Lisa has also collaborated with other artists, namely Pieter Bourke of the band Soma and Irish composer Patrick Cassidy on the respective albums Duality and Immortal Memory. Lisa has also become a sought after soundtrack artist too after a wave of publicity for the Ridley Scott film Gladiator and continues to release work on a regular basis including soundtrack work on Ali, Layer Cake, and Whale Rider. Peter Ulrich, former percussionist of the band has also released two solo albums, Pathways and Dawns and more recently, Enter the Mysterium.
A series of 31 reunion concerts took place in 2005 in both Europe and North America including two memorable sell out concerts at The Hollywood Bowl and Radio City accompanied by 40 piece orchestras. Many of these concerts were professionally recorded and released as a double CD.
In late 2011, the band announced a reunion World Tour, in order to promote their new album, fittingly titled Anastasis, as it was released on August 9, 2012, 16 years after the group's previous album. Anastasis was well received by critics and is also the first album of the band not released by 4AD Records.
The name "Dead Can Dance" is often misleading. Although this group is quite popular among the goth sub-culture with the name appearing to be inspired by the Danse macabre allegory, it should instead be interpreted as 'giving life to something that was previously inanimate' as Perry said:
"The album artwork [of our self titled first album], a ritual mask from New Guinea, attempted to provide a visual reintrepretation of the meaning of the name "Dead Can Dance." The mask, though once a living part of a tree is dead; nevertheless it has, through the artistry of its maker, been imbued with a life force of its own. To understand why we chose the name, think of the transformation of inanimacy to animacy.... Think of the processes concerning life from death and death into life. So many people missed the inherent symbolism, and assumed that we must be 'morbid gothic types,' a mistake we deplored and deplore...".
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All in Good Time
Dead Can Dance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have left their moorings
Cast adrift
On the Sargasso Sea
Waiting for the wind
To set your sails free
When you reach
Chasing shadows
And down on your luck
Look for the sign
Look for a sign
As you rise to the very top
Of your mountain
Just remember those
Poor lost souls
On their way down
You taught me patience
Was a virtue
I took my time
Let Nature take her cause
All was revealed
All in good time
Turn back your clocks
Open up your memories
Beneath the veil
Where time stands still
You showed me a sign
You showed me the sign
The lyrics of Dead Can Dance's song, All in Good Time, seems to have a theme of journeying, perseverance and learning through experiences. It starts by painting the imagery of ships that have left their moorings and are now aimlessly wandering at sea waiting for the wind to set their sails free, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for people who are stuck in life and await a moment of inspiration to move forward. The singer then advises and comforts the listener, reminding them that when they reach the end of their rainbow, chasing shadows and feeling down on their luck, they should look for the sign, an indication that they are on the right or wrong track.
The song also touches on the concept of empathy and compassion for others who may be struggling or going through a difficult phase in their lives. As the listener rises to the top of their mountain, they are advised to also remember those who are on their way down, an indication that the climb to success and greatness can be lonely and should not be taken for granted. The third verse then seems to focus on the importance of patience, how nature takes its course and how everything falls into place in good time. The singer acknowledges that the patience was taught to them as a virtue, a valuable lesson learned from someone wise, and that everything was revealed to them in good time.
Line by Line Meaning
All your ships
Everything that you possess and have control over
Have left their moorings
Have moved away from the stable place of safety or certainty
Cast adrift
Left without guidance or support
On the Sargasso Sea
In a challenging, unknown, and difficult terrain
Waiting for the wind
Waiting for circumstances to take action
To set your sails free
To give you the chance to move forward on your journey
When you reach
When you finally achieve your goal
The end of your rainbow
What you have been striving for
Chasing shadows
Going after things that are not there or ultimately fulfilling
And down on your luck
Feeling defeated and hopeless
Look for the sign
Search for guidance and direction
Look for a sign
Have faith that you will receive assistance
As you rise to the very top
As you overcome obstacles and achieve success
Of your mountain
Of your personal challenge, goal, or ambition
Just remember those
Don't forget about the people who are struggling below you
Poor lost souls
People who are lost, confused or suffering
On their way down
Who are experiencing failures or setbacks
You taught me patience
You showed me how to stay calm and wait for things to happen
Was a virtue
Was a quality of moral goodness
I took my time
I waited until the right time
Let Nature take her cause
Let natural processes unfold on their own
All was revealed
Everything became clear and understandable
All in good time
It all happened at the right time and in the right sequence
Turn back your clocks
Reflect on your past experiences
Open up your memories
Remember what has happened and what you have learned
Beneath the veil
Beyond what appears to be true, behind the surface level
Where time stands still
In a place where there are no distractions or external pressures
You showed me a sign
You gave me the guidance and direction that I needed
You showed me the sign
You gave me hope and faith that everything will work out
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BRENDAN PERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@counterculture_pirvu
All your ships
Have left their moorings
Cast adrift
On the Sargasso Sea
Waiting for the wind
To set your sails free
When you reach
The end of your rainbow
Chasing shadows
And down on your luck
Look for the sign
Look for a sign
As you rise to the very top
Of your mountain
Just remember those
Poor lost souls
On their way down
You taught me patience
Was a virtue
I took my time
Let Nature take her cause
All was revealed
All in good time
Turn back your clocks
Open up your memories
Beneath the veil
Where time stands still
You showed me a sign
You showed me the sign
@LauraS1
I sang this today in a small slot canyon in Utah called Singing Canyon (appropriately enough). I was alone in the canyon when I started and had my back to the entrance and was listening to the canyon walls resonate around me. This place makes everyone sound epic due to the excellent acoustics. I got about halfway through it when I realized three people were standing behind me, recording me on their phones and cameras. I stopped but they wanted me to continue and asked if they could video it. It was pretty moving both to have sung to the canyon like that and to have had it appreciated by others. It was simply in all senses of the word, awesome.
@felipeleal6177
Thank you so much for this! So inspiring. Opening up the lungs into new life.
@lostinostia368
It would be awesome to listen your voice here on YouTube. All the best 🙏
@lo9124
So beautiful.
@morgancaors180
What a magic moment !
Alaways incredible to sing Dead can dance in particular moments...
It makes something goes out from us, a deep sensibility
@lordfarquar9215
That is awesome sounds like some cool folks too!
@leroylang2453
Best song on the album for me. Love Brendan's voice.
@wakeupmofoers691
yes
@counterculture_pirvu
All your ships
Have left their moorings
Cast adrift
On the Sargasso Sea
Waiting for the wind
To set your sails free
When you reach
The end of your rainbow
Chasing shadows
And down on your luck
Look for the sign
Look for a sign
As you rise to the very top
Of your mountain
Just remember those
Poor lost souls
On their way down
You taught me patience
Was a virtue
I took my time
Let Nature take her cause
All was revealed
All in good time
Turn back your clocks
Open up your memories
Beneath the veil
Where time stands still
You showed me a sign
You showed me the sign
@zouheirfaisal7418
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻