"One of my earlier memories of music is my mom sitting at the piano late at night, playing us to sleep with Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata,'" Marc says. With a father who preached and led worship and a mother who led the church choir and played piano, Marc was raised in a music-intensive environment.
His parents instilled a love for music in him that followed him throughout his childhood through eight years of piano lessons, through Disney duets he would sing with friends, through hours he spent alone teaching himself guitar all the way to a small college in Saskatchewan, where he formed the band Downhere with his roommate Jason Germain and a few close friends in 1999.
"Our friendship was always based around music," Marc says. "We really hit it off musically... we realized we shared a lot of the same taste in music, while also bringing different influences."
Downhere developed their sound while touring on behalf of the college, which would send them out on the road with production, lighting, sound, and even a vehicle and trailer. After four years of college, the band left their Canadian roots behind and relocated to Nashville, TN, where they signed with Word Records. Downhere has since gone on to win multiple Juno Awards and a Dove Award. They have released 10 albums, including their latest release, On the Altar of Love, which reflects a different approach to songwriting than their previous releases.
"For me it used to be all about being musically complex and artsy," Marc says. "And then I had a real perspective-shifting experience. At one of our shows there was a little girl standing front-center with her mother. When I said the next song was "How Many Kings," her face lit up as she looked up at her mom and grabbed her hand. She sang along to every word. I thought to myself, 'I've got to write more songs like THAT.'"
In September 2011, Marc entered a competition to join Roger Taylor, original drummer for the legendary rock band Queen, on stage for the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour. Throughout his career with Downhere, concertgoers have often approached Marc insisting he sounds just like Freddie Mercury, legendary singer of the rock band Queen.
"I don't think I've done a show in the last five or six years where five to ten people haven't come up to me and said, 'Hey, anyone ever tell you that you sound like Queen?' or 'that guy from Queen' or 'Eddie Mercury,'" he says laughingly. "In the list of great rock signers, he is considered one of the best if not the best and it's always just a huge compliment when people tell that to me."
It seems that Downhere concertgoers aren't alone in their thinking, as Marc's entry for the Queen Extravaganza contest, a video of Marc singing along with the Queen classic "Somebody to Love," generated more millions of views on YouTube after being up for only a few days.
Whether it's onstage with Downhere or on a computer screen, Marc has a message and a voice that has captured millions for the past decade. Through music, Marc is after the one thing people are always looking for a connection.
"There is always time for exploring new soundscapes and interesting arrangements…but the song has to connect with people or there's not much point to it. I'm really trying to stay in that magic equilibrium now as I write, the union of intriguing artistry combined with strong human connection."
Somebody To Love
Marc Martel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can barely stand on my feet
(Take a look at yourself) Take a look in the mirror and cry (and cry)
Lord, what you're doing to me (yeah yeah)
I have spent all my years in believing you
But I just can't get no relief, Lord!
Somebody (somebody) ooh somebody (somebody)
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
I work hard (he works hard) every day of my life
I work 'til I ache in my bones
At the end (at the end of the day)
I take home my hard earned pay all on my own
I get down (down) on my knees (knees)
And I start to pray
'Til the tears run down from my eyes
Lord, somebody (somebody), ooh somebody
(Please) can anybody find me somebody to love?
Everyday (everyday) I try and I try and I try
But everybody wants to put me down
They say I'm going crazy
They say I got a lot of water in my brain
Ah, got no common sense
I got nobody left to believe in
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oh, Lord
Ooh somebody, ooh somebody
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
(Can anybody find me someone to love)
Got no feel, I got no rhythm
I just keep losing my beat (you just keep losing and losing)
I'm OK, I'm alright (he's alright, he's alright)
I ain't gonna face no defeat (yeah yeah)
I just gotta get out of this prison cell
One day (someday) I'm gonna be free, Lord!
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love love love
Find me somebody to love
Find me somebody to love
Somebody somebody somebody somebody
Somebody find me
Somebody find me somebody to love
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
(Find me somebody to love)
Ooh
(Find me somebody to love)
Find me somebody,
somebody (find me somebody to love) somebody, somebody to love
Find me, find me, find me, find me, find me
Ooh, somebody to love (Find me somebody to love)
Ooh (find me somebody to love)
Find me, find me, find me somebody to love (find me somebody to love)
Anybody, anywhere, anybody find me somebody to love love love!
Somebody find me, find me love
The opening lines of "Somebody To Love" by Marc Martel express the singer's despair and hopelessness as he wakes up each day. He feels weak in his knees and can barely stand due to the emptiness he feels inside. Looking at himself in the mirror, he cries as he realizes how much the world is getting to him. For years, he has put his faith in someone, perhaps a higher power or a loved one, but feels no relief. In desperation, he pleads to find someone to love, someone who can give him that missing piece.
The next stanza begins with the singer sharing how hard he works every day until his bones ache. As he finishes work and takes his hard-earned payback home, he feels lonely and helpless. He kneels down to pray, tears streaming from his eyes, and once again begs to find that someone who can love him. But instead of finding kindness and understanding, he meets with opposition and criticism from others who even say he's going crazy and lacks common sense. With no one to believe in, he longs to be free from his "prison cell." In his final plea, he implores anyone to find him somebody to love, a person who can help him escape his despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, each morning I get up I die a little
Every morning, I wake up but I feel like I am dying inside
Can barely stand on my feet
I feel so weak that I can hardly stand
(Take a look at yourself) Take a look in the mirror and cry (and cry)
When I see myself in the mirror, I cry uncontrollably
Lord, what you're doing to me (yeah yeah)
I feel like God is punishing me for something
I have spent all my years in believing you
I have always had faith in you, God
But I just can't get no relief, Lord!
But my situation doesn't seem to be getting any better and I am not finding any relief
Somebody (somebody) ooh somebody (somebody)
I wish I had someone in my life, someone to love and care for me
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
Can somebody please find me a person who will love me?
I work hard (he works hard) every day of my life
I work very hard every day
I work 'til I ache in my bones
I work so hard that my body aches
At the end (at the end of the day)
At the end of the day
I take home my hard earned pay all on my own
I earn my money on my own and I take it home alone
I get down (down) on my knees (knees)
I kneel down to pray
And I start to pray
And I start praying
'Til the tears run down from my eyes
I pray so hard that it brings tears to my eyes
Lord, somebody (somebody), ooh somebody
Lord, I need somebody to love
(Please) can anybody find me somebody to love?
Please find me someone to love
Everyday (everyday) I try and I try and I try
Every day I keep trying hard but things don't seem to improve
But everybody wants to put me down
Everyone is always trying to bring me down
They say I'm going crazy
They say I am losing my mind
They say I got a lot of water in my brain
They say I am crazy
Ah, got no common sense
I feel like I have lost my common sense
I got nobody left to believe in
I do not have anyone to have faith in anymore
Oh, Lord
Oh, God
Got no feel, I got no rhythm
I feel like I am out of touch with reality, and I have lost my sense of rhythm
I just keep losing my beat (you just keep losing and losing)
I feel like I am losing control and things are going out of hand
I'm OK, I'm alright (he's alright, he's alright)
I keep telling myself that everything is okay, but it's not
I ain't gonna face no defeat (yeah yeah)
I refuse to accept failure
I just gotta get out of this prison cell
I feel trapped and suffocated in my current situation
One day (someday) I'm gonna be free, Lord!
One day, I will be free from all my troubles
Find me somebody to love
Please find me someone who will love me
Anybody, anywhere, anybody find me somebody to love love love!
Someone, anyone, please find me someone to love
Somebody find me, find me love
Please help me find love
Contributed by Grayson E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
eliten
...And now 8 years later he did additional vocals for the Freddie Mercury character in the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Pretty cool huh
MrJoeym78
For the haters! In the words of legendary Queen drummer Roger Taylor as he remarked to the Daily Record about Marc Martel: “That voice. You listen, close your eyes and you think it’s Freddie. It’s really uncanny.” The film’s creators have conceded that the sung vocals in the movie are largely by Mercury and Martel due to Audio Masters of Mercury not being in the greatest conditions and due to NDA, will never disclose any details about who did what. What you see and hear is natural god given talent and a 3 octave + 6 semitone vocal range, pellucid tone and operatic quality. Or you can just check out his Pitch Perfect Killer Queen cover!!
upupaepops
@Carol Hagerty While the majority were studio recordings of Freddie, it was quite a bit more than .01% from Marc ..lol.
M3 m3 m3
@Carol Hagerty
Go climb back up Lambert’s derriere where you came from!
M3 m3 m3
@Brett Kelly
He is not trying to be Freddie! Gah
Brett Kelly
@LeoI know. he will NEVER be Freddie, no matter how much they cry about it.
Pranav Kartha
Rami Malek be thinking like: It's a good thing this guy can't act, or else.........
Niggleblade
This guy did vocals for the film
Victor Kreig
This was made years before the movie even started filming dude
M3 m3 m3
@BillySun01
See above 👆👆👆