Galás is known for being a fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer and is noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range. Galás was the daughter of Greek Orthodox parents and her singing was roundly discouraged, although her prowess as a classical pianist was nurtured; ultimately, her strict upbringing resulted in a reckless, drug-fueled youth prior to her entrance into the University of California's music and visual arts program. Galás made her performing debut in 1979 at France's Festival d'Avignon, which led to an invitation to assume the lead role in composer Vinko Globokar's politically charged opera Un Jour Comme un Autre. In subsequent solo performance art pieces like Wild Women with Steak Knives and Tragouthia Apo to Aima Exon Fonos, Galás further honed her unique, shattering vocal style, inspired by the Schrei ("shriek") opera of German expressionism (a form employing a system of four microphones and a series of echoes and delays).
She worked with many avant-garde composers including Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, John Zorn, Iannis Xenakis and Vinko Globokar. She made her performance debut at the Festival d'Avignon in France as the lead in Globokar's opera, Un Jour Comme Une Autre which deals with the death by torture of a Turkish woman. The work was sponsored by Amnesty International. She also contributed her voice to Francis Ford Coppola's film Dracula (1992) and appeared on the film's soundtrack.
Her work first garnered widespread attention with the controversial 1991 live recording of the album "Plague Mass" in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. With it, Galás attacked the Catholic Church for its indifference to AIDS using biblical texts. In the words of Terrorizor Magazine, "The church was made to burn with sound, not fire." Plague Mass was a live rendition of excerpts from her same-titled trilogy which began as a response/homage/indictment to the multitudinous effects of AIDS upon the silent class - of which her brother was a member. During the period of these recordings, Galás had "We are all HIV+" tattooed upon her knuckles; an artistic expression of disillusionment and disgust with the ignorance and apathy surrounding the AIDS epidemic. Her brother, who died during the trilogy's final production, reportedly appreciated her efforts.
Susan McClary (1991) writes that Galás, "heralds a new moment in the history of musical representation," after describing her thus: "Galás emerged within the post-modern performance art scene in the seventies...protesting...the treatment of victims of the junta, attitudes towards victims of AIDS...Her pieces are constructed from the ululation of traditional Mediterranean keening...whispers, shrieks, and moans."
In 1994, Galás collaborated with Led Zeppelin bass guitarist John Paul Jones. The resultant record, "The Sporting Life", while containing much of Galás's trademark vocal gymnastics, is probably the closest she has ever come to rock music.
Galás also performs as a blues artist interpreting a wide range of songs into her unique piano and vocal styles. This aspect of her work is perhaps best represented by her 1992 album, "The Singer" where she covered the likes of Willie Dixon, Roy Acuff, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins while accompaning herself on piano. For that album, she also recorded several traditional songs as well as the rarely heard Desmond Carter-penned version of Gloomy Sunday. Many of her selections both within and outside of blues repertoire have sometimes been categorized as 'homicidal love songs'. She also focuses on the death penalty. One program of songs, "Frenzy", has been dedicated to Aileen Wuornos and features the work of Phil Ochs and Hank Williams Sr.
Her latest song cycle is an interpretation of songs by Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.
Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/songsofexile
Down So Low
Diamanda Galás Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cried for so long
And I wanted you to stay
Ah but that was all wrong
The pain you left behind
Has become part of me
And it's burned out a hole
But it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
Well you know I love you
But that wasn't enough
We both fell apart
When things got too tough
And I've learned how to give now
But what good
But what good would that do
No one can touch me
The way you used to do
And it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
Well I know your opinion
Of me is not good
Please try to understand
That I'd change
Well I'd change if I could
And this coldness inside me
Well it's starting to build
And a woman can't be a woman
Unless she's fulfilled
But it's not losing you
That's got me down so low
I just can't find another man
To take your place
There's no one can
The lyrics to Diamanda Galás's song "Down So Low" are a heartfelt exploration of emotional pain and attachment. The singer is grappling with the aftermath of a failed relationship, and the song vividly captures the sense of loss and despair that she feels. The opening lines set the tone, with the singer noting that she cried for a long time after the other person left. She also expresses regret, saying that she "wanted you to stay" but recognizing that this desire was misguided.
As the song progresses, the singer delves deeper into her emotions. She notes that the pain left behind from the failed relationship has become a part of her, and has left a hole where her love used to be. She also notes that despite this pain, it's not losing the other person that has got her down so low. Rather, it's the inability to find someone new that can take the place of the person she lost.
Line by Line Meaning
When you went away I cried
I shed tears endlessly when you left me
Cried for so long
My weeping continued for such a prolonged duration
And I wanted you to stay
I desired for your presence to linger
Ah but that was all wrong
But in hindsight, it was the incorrect mindset to have
The pain you left behind
The agony you caused upon your departure
Has become part of me
Has integrated itself into my being as a part of me
And it's burned out a hole
It has created a void within me
Where my love used to be
Where my affections for you once existed
But it's not losing you
But it's not the fact that I lost you
That's got me down so low
That has caused me to become so despondent
I just can't find another man
I am unable to locate a substitute for you
To take your place
To fill the void you left behind
Well you know I love you
You're aware that I still have feelings for you
But that wasn't enough
But that adoration was insufficient to maintain our relationship
We both fell apart
The both of us disintegrated
When things got too tough
When our circumstances became too treacherous to handle
And I've learned how to give now
I have acquired the ability to be selfless now
But what good
But what advantage
But what good would that do
But what would be the benefit of that new skill
No one can touch me
No one can arouse the emotions within me
The way you used to do
The way you could previously
And it's not losing you
And it's not the fact that I lost you
That's got me down so low
That has caused me to become so despondent
I just can't find another man
I am unable to locate a substitute for you
To take your place
To fill the void you left behind
Well I know your opinion
I am aware of your thoughts regarding me
Of me is not good
Your perspective of me is not favorable
Please try to understand
I request that you sympathize
That I'd change
That I would amend
Well I'd change if I could
I would attempt to alter if it was achievable
And this coldness inside me
This frigidity that permeates within me
Well it's starting to build
Is commencing to intensify
And a woman can't be a woman
And a female is incapable of being a true woman
Unless she's fulfilled
Unless she is content and satisfied
But it's not losing you
But it's not the fact that I lost you
That's got me down so low
That has caused me to become so despondent
I just can't find another man
I am unable to locate a substitute for you
To take your place
To fill the void you left behind
There's no one can
There's no one who can
Contributed by Cooper A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.