Many of L'âme Immortelle's songs feature melancholy or lovelorn lyrics in German or English, and juxtaposed harsh male and emotional female vocals. Current work has moved away from the band's electronic roots into the neue deutsche härte (New German hardness) genre.
L'âme Immortelle was formed in 1996 in Vienna, Austria by friends Thomas Rainer and Hannes Medwenitsch. Soon vocalist Sonja Kraushofer, a former classmate of Rainer, joined and the band sought a record contract. They released their first album, "Lieder die wie Wunden bluten" in 1997 on MOS Records in Lichtenstein, which became popular in the underground German Goth subculture. In 1999, L'âme Immortelle switched to Trisol Records. From 1998 through 2001, L'âme Immortelle released another LP yearly, each bringing the band greater popularity. In 2002, Medwenitsch left the band. Kraushofer and Rainer recruited Ashley Dayour as a guitarist and the re-formed L'âme Immortelle released a new single, "Tiefster Winter" in November 2002. In 2003, L'âme Immortelle released "Als die Liebe starb", as well as "Seelensturm", a collection of re-issued and re-mixed early material.
In 2004, the band switched labels again, this time to major label Supersonic, a subsidiary of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The first issue following the switch was a collaboration with OOMPH! on the non-album single "Brennende Liebe" (released as OOMPH! feat. L'âme Immortelle); they also appeared in the video. Following that, L'âme Immortelle released a new album, "Gezeiten", which includes some of their most popular songs like "5 Jahre", "Stumme Schreie" and "Fallen Angel". A significant change in L'âme Immortelle's style is evident now that the band is on a major label; notably the electronic instrumentation of earlier work was less prominent in "Gezeiten".
Their latest album "Auf deinen Schwingen" has been released on August 2006 along with "Phönix" single. The record also includes songs like "Wohin" which contains text from another famous LAI song called "Aus den Ruinen", and "Nur Du" — a song which totally differs from older L'âme Immortelle work. The music video for this song is a cartoon, an unusual thing for the band.
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The Immortal Part
L'Âme Immortelle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or lay me down at night to dream,
I hear my bones within me say
Another night, another day
Wanderers eastward, wanderers west,
Know you why you cannot rest
'Tis that every mother's son
When shall this slough of sense be cast,
This dust of thoughts be laid at last
The man of flesh and soul be slain
And the man of bone remain
Lie down in the bed of dust;
Bear the fruit that bear you must
Bring the eternal seed to light
And morn is all the same as night
This tongue that talks, these lungs that shout
These thews that hustle us about
This brain that fills the skull with schemes
And its humming hive of dreams,
Rest you so from trouble sore,
Fear the heat o' the son no more
Nor the snowing winter wild
Now you labour not with child
These today are proud in power
And lord it in their little hour
The immortal bones obey control
Of dying flesh and dying soul.
Empty vessel, garment cast
We that wore you long shall last
Another night, another day
So my bones within me say
This long till eve and morn are gone:
Slow the endless night comes on
And late to fullness growns the birth
That shall last as long as earth
The Immortal Part by L'Âme Immortelle is a song that reflects on mortality and the existence of mankind. The lyrics convey the idea that the physical body may die, but the bones last forever. The opening stanza talks about the cycle of life and death, and how every day is a new opportunity for the bones to speak again. It suggests that the singer is aware of their own mortality and listens to their bones, which serve as a constant reminder of their fleeting existence.
The next stanzas delve into the idea that all humans are trapped in their physical bodies, and that life is unpredictable and restless. The lyrics describe humans as “Wanderers eastward, wanderers west,” and explains that the reason why humans cannot rest is that they carry their skeletons with them everywhere. The song then suggests that the only way to find true peace and rest is by shedding the “slough of sense,” or the burdens of the material world, and accepting that the bones will outlive everything else.
The last stanza talks about the end of life as we know it, and how the bones will remain long after the flesh and soul are gone. The lyrics suggest that all humans will eventually succumb to the inevitable cycle of life and death, and that the only thing that lasts is the bones. The song ends with a reminder that life is short, but the bones are eternal, and that we must make the most of our time on earth.
Line by Line Meaning
When I meet the morning beam
When I wake up in the morning
Or lay me down at night to dream,
When I go to sleep at night
I hear my bones within me say
I feel a sense of repetition, like every day is the same as the last
Another night, another day
Every day feels like a repeat of the last one
Wanderers eastward, wanderers west,
People who are always on the move
Know you why you cannot rest
They can't relax or settle down
'Tis that every mother's son
It's because we all have skeletons within us
Travails with a skeleton
We are burdened by our own mortality
When shall this slough of sense be cast,
When will our attachment to worldly things end?
This dust of thoughts be laid at last
When will our minds be empty?
The man of flesh and soul be slain
When will we overcome our physical selves and find enlightenment?
And the man of bone remain
When will we find our true selves and become eternal?
Lie down in the bed of dust;
Die and return to the earth
Bear the fruit that bear you must
Accept the life you were given and deal with the consequences
Bring the eternal seed to light
Find your inner self and become immortal
And morn is all the same as night
There is no difference between day and night when you've found inner peace
This tongue that talks, these lungs that shout
Our physical bodies and voices
These thews that hustle us about
Our muscles that keep us busy and working
This brain that fills the skull with schemes
Our mind that constantly thinks of new ideas and plans
And its humming hive of dreams,
Our mind is a hive of thoughts and ideas
Rest you so from trouble sore,
Rest from the troubles of life
Fear the heat o' the son no more
Don't worry about the harshness of life
Nor the snowing winter wild
Don't worry about the harshness of nature either
Now you labour not with child
You are no longer burdened by the pains of childbirth, or any pains of life
These today are proud in power
People of today are proud of their achievements and influence
And lord it in their little hour
But their time in power is short and insignificant in the grand scheme of things
The immortal bones obey control
Our true selves, our bones, are controlled by the physical body
Of dying flesh and dying soul.
Our physical self and our mortal spirit will both eventually die
Empty vessel, garment cast
Our physical bodies are empty vessels or clothes that will be discarded upon death
We that wore you long shall last
But our true selves will continue to exist even after our physical bodies have withered away
Another night, another day
The cycle of life continues, even after death
So my bones within me say
Our true selves continue to exist within us, even after death
This long till eve and morn are gone:
This cycle of life and death will continue for a long time
Slow the endless night comes on
Death will eventually come to us all
And late to fullness growns the birth
True enlightenment is difficult to attain and takes time
That shall last as long as earth
But once attained, enlightenment is eternal, just like the earth
Contributed by Declan G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.