Matthias Paul (born 16 December 1971 in Eisenhüttenstadt, Bezirk Frankfurt,… Read Full Bio ↴Matthias Paul (born 16 December 1971 in Eisenhüttenstadt, Bezirk Frankfurt, East Germany known professionally as Paul van Dyk is a German DJ, record producer and musician. His fifth original album In Between was released August 2007 and features collaborations with David Byrne and Jessica Sutta.

PvD is renowned as one of the hardest working artists, with sold-out tours that cross each continent, headline spots at every major festival, and a hugely successful recording career. With over 3 million albums sold worldwide, van Dyk travels around the world over 16 times each year to sold out performances internationally. 2007 alone has brought us PvD remixes of Depeche Mode’s “Martyr”, Britney Spears’ „Gimmy more“ and Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around.... Comes Around”.

PvD received a Grammy nomination in 2005 for Best Dance/Electronic Album for his original album Reflections – this marked the first time NARAS recognized this category. His original productions from Reflections have been synced into major motion pictures such as Into the Blue, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, television’s Entertainment Tonight and MTV’s Cribs, and international ad campaigns for Motorola, HBO, Land Rover, Ski Vail and most recently for Jeep. This year he won the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for Best Euro DJ.

Previously, PvD won four IDMAs in 2006: Best Global DJ, Best NuNRG/Euro Track, Best Producer and Best Mix Compilation for The Politics of Dancing 2. In addition, PvD was voted “America’s Favorite DJ” for 2004 and 2005 by BPM Magazine and was the big winner at the 2004 Dancestar Awards, taking home 3 awards: Best International DJ, Best Event and Best Music in a Commercial (Motorola). He also won the Mexican Oscar for his soundtrack in the film Zurdo in March 2004. Paul van Dyk was voted "Best Music Maker" by DJ Magazine, received the “Best International DJ Award” at the 1999 Music Awards in London, was named "Best International DJ" by Ministry of Sound Magazine, and Mixmag elected him as “Man of the Year”.

Aside from his musical activity, Paul van Dyk has always dedicated a significant part of his life to politics and social justice: from his youth, when he fled over the Berlin Wall to the West, to his children’s charity in India’s Mumbai, and his partnership scheme with the German Red Cross to help poor children in Berlin. In 2004, PvD was the only electronic artist involved in a nationwide tour with the Rock The Vote campaign, where he joined the likes of Bono, P Diddy, the Black Eyed Peas and George Clinton in campaigning for America’s youth to sign up to vote in the presidential election. In 2006 he received Berlin’s Medal of Honor (Landesverdienstorden) in recognition of his work with Ruckenwind, a charity organization he founded dedicated to helping poor children in Berlin. He joins a distinguished list of arts and political establishment figures with this honor.

Born in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany, Paul van Dyk grew up in communist East Berlin. Because his community did not have a true club culture, Paul van Dyk listened to the radio where he discovered his passion for music that extended beyond Techno music – he wanted to create a different, more unique sound. In the early 1990’s Paul van Dyk was spinning regularly at various clubs in Berlin before releasing his first album 45 RPM in 1994. But it wasn’t until the release of his second album Seven Ways which catapulted him into the Top 100, followed by the release of his hit single “For An Angel,” which began to earn him praise across the globe. By the time Paul van Dyk released Out There & Back in 2000, it became clear that the Berlin-based musician had far more to offer than his signature club sets and remixes that had already defined him as one of the most influential DJs and producers of all time. His first compilation mix CD Politics of Dancing was released in 2001, followed by Global in 2003 – a DVD which illustrates his own experiences traveling the world.

Paul van Dyk created the internet radio station VONYC.com focused on the electronic dance scene.

Paul van Dyk’s touring diary remains incredibly hectic with regular globetrotting stops at major venues across the globe from New York, London, Ibiza to India, China and Singapore. In the little time remaining between all the travel, Paul van Dyk resides in Berlin where he has his own radio show “Paul van Dyk’s VONYC Sessions” which airs weekly on Area 33 on Sirius Radio on Thursday nights at 6PM ET (and rebroadcasts Saturdays at 8PM ET and Tuesdays at Midnight ET) and Soundgarden which airs every Saturday 2pm – 4pm (EST) on Fritz radio and over the internet (www.fritz.de).

For more information, please visit www.paulvandyk.com or www.myspace.com/paulvandyk.

1991

Talk In Grey
Paul Van Dyk Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Missing the train, moving the days around
These moments in time
Always the change of hands that takes you out

When everything is sinking to the top
And something's got you looking till you see you're blind
You know that I would try my best to say

If I could talk in grey
I wouldn't see your face at all
If I could talk in grey

If I could talk in grey
I wouldn't see your face at all
If I could talk in grey

Live in the night, mumble the days aloud
A questions of rights
Things that we left around until they crawl inside

And make you wanna fall across the lines
When everything is sounding like a battle cry
No promises are good enough to take

If I could talk in grey
I wouldn't see your face at all
If I could talk in grey

If I could talk in grey
I wouldn't see your face at all
If I could talk in grey

If I could talk in grey

I wouldn't see your face at all
If I could talk in grey

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Paul Van Dyk's song "Talk in Grey" seem to revolve around feelings of confusion and uncertainty. The opening line, "Missing the train, moving the days around," suggests a sense of being lost or directionless, not quite sure where one is headed or what to do next. This feeling is compounded by the line "Always the change of hands that takes you out," which may refer to how circumstances beyond our control can sometimes pull us in unexpected directions.

Later in the song, we hear the line "When everything is sinking to the top," a phrase which seems paradoxical but may refer to how, when things are at their worst, they can also seem incredibly intense and overwhelming. This feeling of being stuck in an uncertain, chaotic state is further emphasized by the repeated refrain of "If I could talk in grey, I wouldn't see your face at all," which suggests a desire to retreat from the vividness and intensity of life and instead exist in a more muted, subdued state. Overall, "Talk in Grey" seems to be a meditation on the challenges of navigating a world that feels confusing and overwhelming at times, and the sometimes-tempting desire to retreat from it all.

Line by Line Meaning

Missing the train, moving the days around
Feeling like time is slipping away, struggling to keep up with the pace of life

These moments in time
Beholding a profound awareness of how fleeting life can be

Always the change of hands that takes you out
The unpredictability of life and how quickly it can uproot your plans

When everything is sinking to the top
Feeling overwhelmed and lost in a world where everything seems upside down

And something's got you looking till you see you're blind
Being unable to see a way out of a situation

You know that I would try my best to say
Knowing that support is available from someone who cares about you

If I could talk in grey
Expressing a wish to communicate without the complications of black and white thinking and words

I wouldn't see your face at all
Preferring a kind of conversation where visual representations of the person you are talking to cannot distract you with their emotional reactions or expressions

Live in the night, mumble the days aloud
Living in a nocturnal way, in which one feels comforted by the solitude of the darkness and speaks out loud to clarify their thought process

A questions of rights
A misunderstanding or disagreement related to personal freedom or entitlement

Things that we left around until they crawl inside
Issues or emotions that were initially disregarded and trivialized until they become too uncomfortable

And make you wanna fall across the lines
Causing a sense of desperation and the inability to express oneself coherently

When everything is sounding like a battle cry
Feeling like one is at war and constantly needing to assert oneself or defend one's beliefs

No promises are good enough to take
Being unable to trust someone's words, no matter how sincere they may appear

If I could talk in grey
Expressing a wish to communicate without the complications of black and white thinking and words

I wouldn't see your face at all
Preferring a kind of conversation where visual representations of the person you are talking to cannot distract you with their emotional reactions or expressions

Lyrics © NATOARTS LIMITED, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Alexander Perls Rousmaniere, Paul Van Dyk, Ryan Merchant

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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