Since her career began in 1981, Gerrard has been involved in a wide range of projects. She received a Golden Globe Award for the music score to the film Gladiator, on which she collaborated with Hans Zimmer.
Lisa Gerrard was born on 12 April 1961 in Melbourne, and grew up in the suburb of Prahran with her Irish immigrant parents. She has said that she grew up with "Mediterranean music blaring out of the houses" and that this influenced her music, particularly on later Dead Can Dance albums and in her solo and collaborative works.
Gerrard's first foray into forming bands and creative music-making was in Melbourne's little band scene, an experimental post-punk scene which flourished from 1978 until 1981. It was at one of these little band events that she first met Dead Can Dance co-founder Brendan Perry. Perry recalls, "It never occurred to me that we would one day collaborate musically together because at the time I thought her music was too avant garde. I particularly remember one song that she sang about finding a man in the park and asking her mother if she could bring him home to keep in her wardrobe as she attacked this chinese dulcimer with two bamboo sticks".
Dead Can Dance originally formed as a quartet in 1981 in Melbourne, but in 1982 moved to London with members Gerrard, Brendan Perry and bass player Paul Erikson. Shortly after coming to England, Erikson flew back to Australia, leaving the band as a duo. Dead Can Dance recorded eight albums on the 4AD Records recording label beginning with the self-titled Dead Can Dance LP in 1984. In 2005, the song "Nierika" became part of the opening titles for Mexican television station TV Azteca's soap opera "La Chacala". The band split in 1998, but reunited in 2005 for a world tour. In 2012, the band announced a new world tour to coincide with the release of their new album, Anastasis.
Gerrard possesses the vocal range of a contralto but can also reach upward into the mezzo-soprano range. Her voice has been described as rich, deep, dark, mournful and unique.
Examples of Gerrard's mezzo-soprano range include the songs "The Host of Seraphim", "Elegy", "Space Weaver", "Come This Way" and "One Perfect Sunrise". Gerrard however performs more predominantly in the dramatic contralto range in her other songs, "Sanvean", "Sacrifice", "Largo", "Lament" and "Not Yet".
Gerrard sings many of her songs, such as "Now We Are Free", "Come Tenderness", "Serenity", "The Valley of the Moon", "Tempest", "Pilgrimage of Lost Children", "Coming Home" and "Sanvean" in idioglossia. With respect to such work she has said, "I sing in the language of the Heart. It's an invented language that I've had for a very long time. I believe I started singing in it when I was about 12. Roughly that time. And I believed that I was speaking to God when I sang in that language."
Gerrard was married to Polish graphic design artist and music producer Jacek Tuschewski, with whom she has a daughter (born 1992).
Her nephew Jack Gerrard plays for Cairns post-hardcore act Almost a Square as the drummer and back-up vocalist.
Gortoz a ran
Lisa Gerrard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E skeud teñval tourioù gell
E skeud teñval tourioù gell
E skeud teñval an tourioù glav
C'hwi am gwelo 'c'hortoz atav
C'hwi am gwelo 'c'hortoz atav
Un deiz a vo 'teuio en-dro
Dreist ar maezioù, dreist ar morioù
'Teuio en-dro an avel c'hlas
Da analañ va c'halon c'hloaz't
Kaset e vin diouzh e alan
Pell gant ar red, hervez 'deus c'hoant
Hervez 'deus c'hoant pell eus ar bed
Etre ar mor hag ar stered
The lyrics of Gortoz A Ran, which have been sung by Lisa Gerrard and Denez Prigent, depict a person patiently waiting for someone or something while being surrounded by dark and rainy skies. The opening lines, Gortozet 'm eus, gortozet pell, which translate to "I'm waiting, waiting for a long time," are repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the theme of waiting. The song also talks about the singer's surroundings, with references to dark walls and rain.
In the second verse, the song shifts its focus to the future, with the line, "One day it will come back." The singer mentions being carried away by a wave or wind, hinting at the possibility of a loved one returning or a change happening in their life. The final lines of the song suggest a feeling of being lost or unsure, with the mention of being between the sea and the stars.
The lyrics of Gortoz A Ran are in Breton, a Celtic language spoken in Brittany, France. The song was originally composed by Dan Ar Braz and Gilles Servat in 1990 and was later recorded by Denez Prigent, a Breton singer, in 1997. The song gained international recognition when it was featured in the 2006 movie Black Hawk Down.
Line by Line Meaning
Gortozet 'm eus, gortozet pell
I am waiting, I am waiting far away
E skeud teñval tourioù gell
In the dark shadow of church towers
E skeud teñval an tourioù glav
In the dark shadow of rainy towers
C'hwi am gwelo 'c'hortoz atav
You will see me waiting there
Un deiz a vo 'teuio en-dro
One day will come back
Dreist ar maezioù, dreist ar morioù
Beyond fields, beyond seas
'Teuio en-dro an avel c'hlas
Will come back the blue wind
Da analañ va c'halon c'hloaz't
To breathe into my wounded heart
Kaset e vin diouzh e alan
I will be led to his/her doorstep
Pell gant ar red, hervez 'deus c’hoant
Far from the road, wherever he/she wants
Hervez 'deus c'hoant pell eus ar bed
Wherever he/she wants, far from the world
Etre ar mor hag ar stered
Between the sea and the stars
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Erwann502
Paroles et traduction de «Gortoz A Ran»
Gortoz A Ran (J'attends)
[Denez Prigent]
Gortozet 'm eus, gortozet pell
J'ai attendu, j'ai attendu longtemps
E skeud teñval an tourioù gell
Dans l'ombre sombre des tours brunes
E skeud teñval an tourioù gell
Dans l'ombre sombre des tours brunes
E skeud teñval an tourioù glav
Dans l'ombre sombre des tours de pluie
C'hwi am gwelo gortoz atav
Vous me verrez attendre toujours
C'hwi am gwelo gortoz atav
Vous me verrez attendre toujours
[Lisa Gerrard]
Un deiz a vo 'teuio en-dro
Un jour il reviendra
Dreist ar morioù, dreist ar maezioù
Par-dessus les mers, par-dessus les champs
[Denez Prigent]
Un deiz a vo 'teuio en-dro
Un jour il reviendra,
Dreist ar maezioù, dreist ar morioù
Par dessus les campagnes, par dessus les mers
'Teuio en-dro an avel c'hlas
Reviendra le vent vert
Da analañ va c'halon gloaz't
Et emportera avec lui mon coeur blessé
[Lisa Gerrard]
D'am laerezh war an treujoù
M'emporter sur les chemins
'Teuio en-dro karget a fru
Il reviendra, chargé d'embruns
E skeud teñval an tourioù du
Dans l'ombre sombre des tours noires
Kaset e vin diouzh e anal
Grace à son souffle, je serais emporté
Pell gant ar red en ur vro all
Loin dans le courant, dans un autre pays
[Denez Prigent]
Kaset e vin diouzh e alan
Je serais emporté, grace à son souffle
Pell gant ar red, hervez 'deus c'hoant
Loin dans le courant, selon son désir
Hervez 'deus c'hoant, pell eus ar bed
Selon son désir, loin de ce monde
Etre ar mor hag ar stered
Entre la mer et les étoiles
@CSAFD
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” Plato
@ryanmitulski6249
So true, especially in these days/times!
@statichunt4075
The song is my country Bretagne France.
The language is the bretons.
"Breizh atao"
@reindeerman5232
Воистину брат😐
Так и есть
@la3000
I cry every time I hear this. The notes these two singers hit is incredible. It takes the soul to another place. These two singers were meant to sing togethe. The universe made it happen
@mauriziofalco6790
Wonderful Lisa Gerrard!❤
@edeltrautwestphalstenert3495
Simplesmente triste😢
@TheMrJonasvereecke
You don’t need to understand this song to be touched by it. It gives me goosebumps, wonderful
@amaeliss7827
When I stopped speaking breton for years, I still remembered how to say "I waited" because of the first words of this song. Denez' voice is so good.
@philglobalnomad
I was Australian army, I had an American delta mate killed there by a mortar strike 2 days after the battle, he went through the battle untouched and died by mortar strike, I met him in the 80s when he was a ranger, I have never forgotten him, rest easy Matt your never forgotten