He studied music, art, and photography, but left school to pursue music as his life’s work. Rona became an in-demand studio musician, arranger, sound designer, synthesist, and music programmer working in Los Angeles and New York. Among his projects, he recorded and performed as a member of Jon Hassell’s highly regarded group, co-composing and producing the acclaimed “City-Works Of Fiction” record for Opal//Warp Records, and touring and performing with legendary producer Brian Eno.
After working with legendary record producers such as Maurice White, David Foster, Albhy Galuten, Malcolm Cecil and dozens of others, he focused his efforts on film music, most notably collaborating with Philip Glass, Mark Isham, Lisa Gerrard, Basil Poledouris, and longstanding musical relationships with composers Hans Zimmer and Cliff Martinez. Rona collaborated on dozens of films before landing his first solo composing project, scoring the groundbreaking television series “Homicide: Life On The Street” for director Barry Levinson, which launched his successful musical career. Rona’s music has been described as a unique and savvy use of electronics with orchestral and world musicians, taking inspiration from minimalism, EDM, 20th Century orchestral and pop music and blending them into a personal and recognizable style.
Rona has scored dozens of other film and television projects with legendary filmmakers including Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Wong Kar-wai, Robert Altman, Steven Soderbergh, Mark Pellington, Stephen Hopkins, Jonathan Demme, Frank Darabont, and many others.
He has toured with Lisa Gerrard (solo) and Dead Can Dance, orchestrating and conducting a symphony orchestra and adding his own music to the concerts. He composed music for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, including live symphonic performances throughout Asia.
As a committed and passionate protector of animal rights and global ecology, Jeff has given time to score several landmark documentary films, most notably collaborating with Canadian filmmaker and activist Rob Stewart, whose film “Sharkwater” lead to the near global ban on shark finning.
Jeff has written music for multiple AAA video games including the epic “God of War 3”, “Far Cry 4”, “Marvel vs Capcom Infinite”, “Transformers”, “Resident Evil 2”, and the highly anticipated “Devil May Cry 5”, set for release March 8, 2019.
Rona’s music appears in numerous Oscar, Peabody, BAFTA and Emmy award-winning projects, as well as countless film festival honors around the world. He is a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Film and Television Music Award and has authored several successful books on music.
He has released several soundtrack albums. His first solo album, “PROJECTOR” was released in 2017 to excellent reviews and reception.
Prior to becoming an established composer, he was closely involved in a number of creative & technical aspects of electronic music. Jeff was a key figure in the development of musical software and new instrument design, and was a leader in making MIDI a groundbreaking world-wide phenomenon. He was a guest speaker on technology and creativity at the first TED Conference. Jeff chronicled his experiences in the film music world in his popular book The Reel World. He is an artist-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival, and often speaks on film music.
Crimson Cloud
Jeff Rona Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
If you have to ask, it's too late
Somewhere in between, your character grace
An eye on fantasy, touching nails
Brothers in the dark, fight for your life!
Devils in the dark, fight for your life!
Fight for your life! Fight for your life!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Devil in my blood, living on the edge
Split myself in two, death is all around
Summoning the power, drag myself through pain
Blood spills, off of me and on to you
Brothers in the dark, fight for your life!
Devils in the dark, fight for your life!
Fight for your life! Fight for your life!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Crimson cloud! Evening sky!
Crimson cloud! Evening sky!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
Heaven on a landslide!
The lyrics to Jeff Rona's song "Crimson Cloud" delve into themes of redemption and sacrifice, as well as the struggle between light and darkness. The repeated refrain of "Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow! Heaven on a landslide!" invites the listener to consider the contrast between these opposing forces. The phrase "heaven on a landslide" perhaps suggests a precariousness to the singer's sense of salvation or spiritual enlightenment.
The line "If you have to ask, it's too late" implies that there is a point of no return, where one's moral character has been compromised irreparably. The following lines, "Somewhere in between, your character grace / An eye on fantasy, touching nails / Sparks fly, off of me and onto you" suggest that there is a struggle between the singer's aspirations towards goodness and their darker impulses or experiences. The chorus, with its repeated exhortation "Fight for your life!", could be seen as a call to resist temptation or to persevere through life's challenges.
As the song progresses, the imagery becomes more intense, with talk of blood and death. The lines "Devil in my blood, living on the edge / Split myself in two, death is all around / Summoning the power, drag myself through pain / Blood spills, off of me and on to you" further blur the line between good and evil, with the singer seemingly channeling both destructive and redemptive energies.
Line by Line Meaning
Savior! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow!
The singer is calling out to a higher power and the themes of violence and darkness are prevalent.
Heaven on a landslide!
The singer is describing a turbulent and chaotic existence, where even moments of happiness feel fleeting and fragile.
If you have to ask, it's too late
The singer implies that the listener has missed their chance to make a change or take a particular action.
Somewhere in between, your character grace
The singer suggests that the listener exists in a liminal space between good and bad, virtue and vice, where they must navigate their own path.
An eye on fantasy, touching nails
The singer references escapist tendencies that come with a fascination with the unreal, but also alludes to real physical pain.
Sparks fly, off of me and onto you
The singer suggests that their energy and passion is infectious and can cause others to also feel a sense of excitement and intensity.
Brothers in the dark, fight for your life!
The singer addresses a group of people and urges them to stay strong in the face of adversity.
Devils in the dark, fight for your life!
The singer further emphasizes the presence of evil and dark forces that try to corrupt and undermine the listener's efforts.
Devil in my blood, living on the edge
The singer references their own internal struggles with their darker impulses and how they feel constantly on the brink of a chaos.
Split myself in two, death is all around
The singer feels like they are becoming more fractured and disconnected from themselves, and are surrounded by reminders of mortality and violence.
Summoning the power, drag myself through pain
The singer describes a process of overcoming great personal hardship through sheer force of will and a desire to persevere.
Blood spills, off of me and on to you
The singer once again suggests that their own emotional energy is so powerful that it can transfer to the listener and others around them.
Crimson cloud! Evening sky!
The singer evokes a vivid image of a reddish-hued sky, which could symbolize danger or violence, but also a sense of twisted beauty.
Writer(s): Rona Jeff
Contributed by Zoe Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.