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.
Too Far Gone
Lisa Gerrard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not waving
Here in the darkness
I’ll find my peace
You’ll try to save me
But you are suspended
Beneath the surface
In way too deep
Tear at my skin
Release the blood
Let the feeding begin
Your intentions
Will never be blamed
We’re both too far gone
Too far gone
To be saved
We’re too far gone
To be saved
I should have spared you
And you could have warned me
The glory is fleeting
For birds in flight
Now I’m sinking
Weighed down by regrets
I see clearly
In this dying light
I am drowning
Not waving
In this dying light
Will you just love me
It’s not too late
Here in the darkness
No one can judge us
Kiss me completely
And seal our fate
The lyrics of Lisa Gerrard's song "Too Far Gone" tell a story of two people who are both drowning in their own ways. The singer is in darkness and seeks peace, but cannot be saved by the other person who is also struggling to stay afloat. The two have gone too far in their own separate journeys and are too deep to be saved. The singer acknowledges that although the desire to be loved and judged is present, they are resigned to the fate of being unable to be saved.
While the interpretation of the lyrics can be subjective, the song evokes different emotions and thoughts for the listener. It can be argued that the two characters in the song have had their fair share of life's struggles and are tired. They have reached that point where it feels like giving up and being consumed by the darkness is easier than trying to fight to stay afloat. It is a sad and melancholic song that reminds us of the reality of life and the inevitability of death.
Line by Line Meaning
I am drowning
I am suffocating and in desperate need of help
Not waving
I am not signaling for rescue or help
Here in the darkness
I am struggling alone and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel
I’ll find my peace
I will find my calm and inner quietude
You’ll try to save me
You will make an effort to rescue me from my situation
But you are suspended
But you yourself cannot escape from the situation
Beneath the surface
In a situation that is not visible or evident to others
In way too deep
In a situation that is too difficult or impossible to get out of
And your fingers
And your hands
Tear at my skin
Are hurting me
Release the blood
Cause me to bleed
Let the feeding begin
Let your consumption of me commence
Your intentions
Your motives
Will never be blamed
You will never be held accountable for your actions
We’re both too far gone
We are both too deep into our situation to be rescued
To be saved
To be brought back from our situation
I should have spared you
I should not have involved you in my situation
And you could have warned me
And you could have advised me before
The glory is fleeting
The happiness and success are temporary
For birds in flight
For those who are free and unencumbered
Now I’m sinking
Now I am falling further into my situation
Weighed down by regrets
Burdened by my feelings of remorse
I see clearly
I now understand the situation better
In this dying light
As the situation worsens
Will you just love me
Will you show me affection and care
It’s not too late
There is still time to make things right
Here in the darkness
In the midst of turmoil and hardship
No one can judge us
No one can criticize or condemn us
Kiss me completely
Love me wholeheartedly
And seal our fate
And bring about the inevitable outcome of our situation
Contributed by Liliana F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tammy Baker Samuelson
on Mirror Medusa
Does anyone know what she's saying in the song Mirror Medusa?
Becky Evans Davis
on Sleep
so deep in slumber that you shan't know you're wanderin'.
sleep
Becky Evans Davis
on Sleep
my ear attends to you