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
Winter Song
Nico Lyrics
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Is freezing the stares on tyranny's wings.
The bitter is hard and the warmth of your skin
Is diseased with familiar caresses.
Withdrawing from splendor and royal decay
Among all the triumphs and jaded awards
The angry and blazing circus of sun
You cannot beget all the sins that you owe
To the people of paradise magic
Pretend to answer passion and form
With foreign rationalizations.
Primroses are the jewels that lurk
Among masks of pleasure that flicker with doubt
Embraces of fame that's simultaneously fear
To advance and demand to be recognized.
The river shall flow through hollow green faces
Of caricature's resentment etched out of the tongues.
Both reluctant princess asleep before birth
The classical sensitive failures.
The worshipping wicked cling to the dark of your heart
Lying there and wait with your angels
Moan and ravish from dawn to dusk
The avaricious young lovers.
The lyrics to Nico's song "Winter Song" are a complex and metaphorical exploration of themes such as aging, tyranny, disillusionment, and the corrupting influence of power. The opening lines, "The snow on your eyelids that curtsy with age / Is freezing the stares on tyranny's wings," evoke an image of a person who has grown old and weary, and whose eyes no longer have the fire of youth. The "tyranny's wings" may refer to the oppressive forces in the world that this person has witnessed and possibly fought against.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become increasingly abstract and perhaps difficult to decipher. The lines "The angry and blazing circus of sun / Blasphemes as the crown prince arises" may suggest a disillusionment with power structures, with the sun (often seen as a symbol of strength and vitality) being portrayed as angry and blasphemous. The "crown prince" could represent a figure of authority who has risen to prominence but is seen as corrupt or unworthy by the singer.
The final verses of the song include references to love and desire, but again, these are complex and ambiguous. The lines "Moan and ravish from dawn to dusk / The avaricious young lovers" suggest a kind of hedonistic pleasure-seeking, but there is also a hint of darkness and selfishness. Overall, "Winter Song" is a poetic and challenging exploration of the human condition, with many layers of meaning and interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
The snow on your eyelids that curtsy with age
Your aged eyelids are frozen with snow, in what looks like a gracious bow.
Is freezing the stares on tyranny's wings.
The snow is freezing the looks of oppression.
The bitter is hard and the warmth of your skin
Your skin's warmth is tainted by an unpleasant touch.
Is diseased with familiar caresses.
This warmth is from familiar, yet contagious touches.
Withdrawing from splendor and royal decay
Retreat from glamour and regal decline.
Among all the triumphs and jaded awards
Beyond any achievements or overused rewards.
The angry and blazing circus of sun
The sun's fury and fire that's just begun.
Blasphemes as the crown prince arises.
The sun disrespects as the heir to crown materializes.
You cannot beget all the sins that you owe
You can't commit all sins you owe.
To the people of paradise magic
In the land of mystique and magic.
Pretend to answer passion and form
Feign the response to passion and form.
With foreign rationalizations.
Using alieniation to support those fabrications.
Primroses are the jewels that lurk
The delicate primroses masquerade as gems.
Among masks of pleasure that flicker with doubt
In the midst of smiles of pleasure that continuously waver.
Embraces of fame that's simultaneously fear
The embrace of fame that causes terror.
To advance and demand to be recognized.
To progress and overcome malaise to achieve status.
The river shall flow through hollow green faces
The river flows through faces carved with vacant disdain.
Of caricature's resentment etched out of the tongues.
Sculpted in disdainful caricatures' miserable attitude.
Both reluctant princess asleep before birth
Two lifeless princesses who never saw earth.
The classical sensitive failures.
Two tragedies, the epitome of artistic debacles.
The worshipping wicked cling to the dark of your heart
The wicked, who worship you, hold onto the darkest part of your heart.
Lying there and wait with your angels
They lay with angels and wait.
Moan and ravish from dawn to dusk
Groan and indulge in pleasure from morning till dusk.
The avaricious young lovers.
These lovers are insatiably greedy.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN DAVIES CALE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind