Dieter Meier was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1945. He is the founder of… Read Full Bio ↴Dieter Meier was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1945. He is the founder of the most successful modern-music group ever to come out of Switzerland – Yello. Formed in 1979, in collaboration with Boris Blank, Yello has produced 15 acclaimed albums and their soundtracks have accompanied not only American Football on TV but blockbuster movies including “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and Michael J Fox’s “Secret of my Success”.

The two artists are considered the pioneers of electronic dance music and enjoy worldwide commercial success. Yello’s groundbreaking electronic music is sampled by commercial TV sales campaigns worldwide, making them one of the most prolific producers of music for the visual industries. Known for the dazzling visual style in his many music videos, Dieter Meier has collected a variety of honours for his directing and writing.

In addition to his activities in music and film, Dieter Meier is a partner in Euphonix, Palo Alto, a leading company for digital mixing consoles for film and television postproduction, and a producer and brander of organic commodities in Argentina (“Ojo de Agua”).

Night Porter
Dieter Meier Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The night porter is a lonely man
Fantasies his only friends
People come and people leave
In a night that never ends

In street light outside the dancing snow
Faces appear and faces go
Irina is freezing, her coat's too light

A stranger expects her in a room 908...

дальше будет)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Dieter Meier's Night Porter speak to the isolation and loneliness of hotel staff, particularly the night porter who spends his nights in endless shifts, left only with his imagination and fantasies as his only companions. The people who come and go are mere passing reflections of his own feelings of separation, as he watches their lives unfold in fleeting moments before they move on. The use of the term "night porter" speaks to the particular position of the character in the song, a custodian of the night, who holds the responsibility of attending to the needs of the hotel's guests while living a life that remains in the shadows.

As the night continues, the song's imagery shifts to the outside of the hotel, where the night porter observes the passing faces from the safety of his post. The appearance of Irina, who is cold and alone, only heightens the sense of distance and disconnection felt by the night porter. The scene in room 908, where a stranger is waiting for her, further emphasizes the sense of displacement and disconnect from the rest of the world.

Overall, the song's lyrics paint a bleak picture of life for those who spend their nights tending to the needs of others while losing touch with their own world. The night porter is a symbol of the price that has to be paid for the glamorous luxury of hotel living.

Line by Line Meaning

The night porter is a lonely man
The person in charge of the building during the night is a solitary individual

Fantasies his only friends
His imagination is what keeps him company

People come and people leave
Visitors arrive and depart from the premises

In a night that never ends
During a seemingly endless evening

In street light outside the dancing snow
Illuminated by the streetlights amongst the falling snow

Faces appear and faces go
Strangers come and go

Irina is freezing, her coat's too light
Irina is extremely cold and her coat isn't warm enough

A stranger expects her in a room 908...
An unfamiliar person anticipates her arrival in room 908

Contributed by Julian H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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