Nico started a successful career as a model in Berlin and Paris, studied acting at Lee Strasberg's New York Actor Studio. She then became part of the Swinging London scene, and had a short relationship with The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones and she recorded her first record in London in 1965, the single I'm Not Saying/The Last Mile, produced by Jimmy Page, for Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham's label Immediate Records. Thanks to Jones she met Andy Warhol in New York City and became part of Warhol's Factory, and Warhol introduced her to the Rock band The Velvet Underground, with whom she recorded the album "The Velvet Underground & Nico", featuring the legendary banana cover designed by Andy Warhol. The album has been named by numerous publications as one of the top 100 albums of all time, and is often considered one of history's 10 most influential albums by critics.
Nico later recorded several solo albums, including the folksy Chelsea Girl in 1967, followed by original albums such as The Marble Index and Desertshore, which were much darker and avant garde in style. She released several more albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including The End..., but died in 1988 from a cerebral hemorrhage after falling from her bike in Ibiza, Spain. She is buried in Berlin, next to her mother.
Solo studio discography:
1967 - Chelsea Girl
1969 - The Marble Index
1970 - Desertshore
1974 - The End...
1981 - Drama of Exile
1985 - Camera Obscura
Live discography:
1974 - June 1, 1974 (with Kevin Ayers, John Cale, and Brian Eno)
1986 - Behind the Iron Curtain
1986 - Live Heroes
1986 - Nico in Tokyo
1989 - Hanging Gardens
1993 - Do or Die!
1994 - Heroine
1994 - Fata Morgana
1994 - Live in Pécs 1985
2000 - In Europe: Do or Die, Diary 1982
2001 - Janitor of Lunacy
2003 - 1972-01-29: Le Bataclan, Paris, France (with Lou Reed and John Cale)
2007 - All Tomorrow's Parties: Live
No One Is There
Nico Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Demon is dancing down the scene.
In a crucial parody
Demon is dancing down the scene.
He is calling and throwing
his arms up in the air -
and no one is there.
comes to a start.
No one is there.
Some are calling, some are sad,
some are calling him mad.
No one is there.
Across from behind your window screen
Demon is dancing down the scene.
In a crucial parody
Demon is dancing down the scene.
He is calling and throwing
his arms up in the air.
No one is there.
All of them are missing
as the game comes to a start.
No one is there.
And no sound has them
Declared
To be missing
To be missing
To be missing
The lyrics to Nico's song "No One Is There" create a tone of eerie detachment and loneliness. There is a sense of a disconnect between the singer and the world around them. Through metaphor and imagery, the song describes a demon dancing down a scene that is devoid of any human presence. There is an undercurrent of madness or instability in the demon's actions, which may be a projection of the singer's internal state. The parodic nature of the demon's dance could suggest that the world itself is a kind of cruel joke or farce, which adds to the sense of hopelessness in the lyrics.
The repeated refrain of "No one is there" underscores the singer's sense of isolation, as though they are the only person left in a world devoid of meaning or substance. The song captures a feeling of profound disenchantment with the world, and the sense that nobody understands or sees the singer's struggles. In some ways, the demon dancing down the scene could be seen as a metaphor for the singer's own inner demons - the parts of themselves that they feel are too crazy or wild to be seen by others. The song ends with a mournful note, as the singer wonders if anyone even knows that they are missing.
Line by Line Meaning
Across from behind my window screen
I am observing something peculiar from my window
Demon is dancing down the scene.
The strange thing I am witnessing is an eerie dance by a demon-like figure
In a crucial parody
The demon's dance seems like a dark, twisted joke or mockery
He is calling and throwing his arms up in the air -
The demon is making loud gestures and vocalizations, seemingly trying to get someone's attention
and no one is there.
Despite the demon's attempts, there is no audience or recipient for his actions
All of them are missing as the game comes to a start.
There should be people present for a game or event, but they are all absent
Some are calling, some are sad, some are calling him mad.
There may be different explanations or reactions to the demon's presence, from fear to disbelief
Across from behind your window screen
The perspective shifts to imagine someone else witnessing the same scene
Demon is dancing down the scene.
The same eerie dance by the same demon-like figure is happening in this version too
And no sound has them declared
Despite the abnormal activity, there is no official announcement or report about what is happening
To be missing, to be missing, to be missing
The absence of people and explanation is a persistent mystery and unsettling phenomenon
Contributed by Alaina C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@tommasoguarducci4619
[Verse 1]
Across from behind my window screen
Demon is dancing down the scene
In a crucial parody
Demon is dancing down the scene
[Chorus]
He is calling and throwing his arms up in the air
And no one is there
All of them are missing as the game comes to a start
No one is there
[Verse 2]
Some are calling, some are sad
Some are calling him mad
No one is there
Across from behind your window screen
Demon is dancing down the scene
In a crucial parody
Demon is dancing down the scene
[Chorus]
He is calling and throwing his arms up in the air
No one is there
All of them are missing as the game comes to a start
No one is there
[Outro]
And no sound has them
Declared
To be missing (To be missing)
To be missing (To be missing)
To be missing (To be missing)
@alanalan9242
I've been listening to some of the artists who Wikipedia list as influenced by Nico and this album in particular, but for me hardly any of them get close to the bleakness of feeling, the sheer iciness of The Marble Index. It's partly due to the simplicity of the work, I think, but also I get a sense that many of the others are showing their isolation or loneliness rather than creating music that lets it emerge by itself without any need for the artist to express it directly. I'm 68 and I can still remember the very first time I heard this album more than fifty years ago and the shivers I felt. I still think it's a masterpiece.
@saintinquisition2538
agreed totally. one of the coldest albums in my life, along with Camera Obscura
@taunaengus4978
Thank you Nico and John.
@larryc3860
what a haunting, medieval melody.......I believe John Cale is still alive in 2023.....R.I.P., Lou & Nico.........
@plumcvnt1937
why this album is so scary but I love it
@nickturnbull4105
Enchanting ,harrowing , beautiful ,RIP Dear Nico
@BetwistedPop
Masterpiece
@JacobLomax
And no sounds has them.. declared... to be missing.
@zetetick395
It's like the worlds most disturbed folk music...
@jamesnolan4412
Perhaps because it just might be the most honest folk music