Note: There are three artists with this name.
1. Prog Rock, German band<… Read Full Bio ↴Note: There are three artists with this name.
1. Prog Rock, German band
2. 60's female pop singer.
3. Low-Fi Dublin Band

1.
In the spring of 1990, Kay Söhl, the two keyboarders Volker Söhl and Matthias Harder, founded the band TEMPORAL TEMPTATION. By that summer the band had already played its first gig - the first live performance of the core founding members of the band. In a way it was also Sylvan's birth. At this time the band played hard rock music and sang in German. Only a small part of their music was progressive rock.

In Autumn 1990, the band changed its name to CHAMELEON, a symbol of changeability, representing the long instrumental parts in their music. The cover artwork had a likeness to early MARILLION covers and has never been issued. In summer 1991 Marko Heisig joined Chameleon as the lead singer and bassist. Between 1992 and 1994 the band had a gloomy and aggressive tonality to them and in this they were very different from the more rocky sounds of the previous years. In 1992 the first official demo tape of Chameleon was released. With Matthias Koops as lead singer, the second official demo tape was recorded. The title was 'Slaves' and its tracklist was 'Time', 'Slaves', 'Mirror of a Lifetime' and 'Childhood Dreams'. (By the way, 'Slaves' was the old title of a version of today's song 'Deliverance' after which Sylvan's first album was named!).

In winter 1995 one of the band's dreams was fulfilled: Marco Glühmann, an old friend who played many years before with Chameleon, joined the band. Within the same year the third and last official demo tape was recorded. The tracklist was 'Beren and Luthien', 'Golden Cage' and 'Outro'. All of these songs have merged into Sylvan's first studio album in one way or another.

In 1997 the last live concert took place under the name Chameleon. Marko Heisig left the band and the bass was taken over by Patrick Münster. The band changed its name to Sylvan. Their first cd was recorded in 1998 and the second was released in 2000. (Adapted from text on the official history website). The music of the band is progressive rock with some hard rock moments, and some spacey melodic pop-rock elements, probably lingering from earlier in their career. Also there are some Art-prog elements, but really not enough to call this music Art-rock as such. Other apparent influences include psychedelic rock, a little PINK FLOYD in the spacey elements, and surely MARILLION and GENESIS.

2. 60's female pop singer. In 2006 her record "We Don't Belong" first recorded in 1965, was featured on a Rhino Records compilation set "The Hatbox collection" "Girl Groups Lost and Found" which gained two Grammy Award nominations in January 2007. Now a successful photographer living in London. www.sylvanmason.com In 1965 Sylvan became the first and only Stowaway on Radio Caroline's Mi Amigo Pirate Ship. She spent the weekend with Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale and Mike Allen promoting her record "We Don't Belong" which had recently been banned by the BBC; helping the dj's with their quiz shows and making jingles whilst the headlines in newspapers screamed "Beautiful blonde Marooned with 15 men". Unlike the new film "The Boat That Rocked" which is based on Radio Caroline, it was cold, uncomfortable and a bit smelly says Sylvan but the boys were very sweet and well behaved.

3. Irish band Sylvan are a five-piece low-fi Dublin-based group, originally formed in 2000 by band members Colin Russell-Conway (drums), Paul Clynes (vox & lead guitar), and Adam McCormack (vox & guitar). Adam left the group in 2004, to move to Denmark and is now recording & gigging with his new band, Imagine I Had Hands. At this point Kieron (Beardy) joined the band to replace Adam on vox & guitar. And Fergus Russell-Conway was also recruited to join the band on bass & backing vox. The band have released 3 full-length albums to date. Their first album "The Ugly Lemon" was recorded in Chicago with Steve Albini in 2003. They then recorded their second album My Marble Eye themselves in Dublin in January 2005. Sylvan have just released their third album "We Are Lying to you through song" in September 2007, and are currently touring this album in Ireland and Europe. http://www.myspace.com/sylvan1

That's Why It Hurts
Sylvan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am searching for the silence, hear the sound of pouring rain
An insisting voice of nature as persistent as my pain

And I stare out of the window, see the rain clouds passing by
A continuous alternation as unstable as my life

It's this everlasting echo, it's this dreadful empty room
It surrounds me full of memories and frustration conquers soon

And why the hell I have to suffer when the wind speaks out your name
And in my egocentric vision - psychologically insane

I shed all my tears, alone in this world
but the longer I weep the more it burns

I whisper my pain, try to fill it with words
but you took them away, that's why it hurts

Read the last words that you left me 'cos there's nothing else to do
Seems as if I hear your voice so I look up, but where are you

Don't know how long I can stand this - still your perfume in our bed
God, this emptiness will kill me if I'm not already dead

When I think of bygone moments - yearning water in my eyes
Still a lot I'd like to tell you, but I can not turn back time

And why the hell I have to suffer in this cruel and unfair world
And when the sun comes out to warm me it's still cold and still it hurts

I shed all my tears, alone in this world
but the longer I weep the more it burns

I whisper my pain, try to fill it with words
but you took them away, that's why it hurts

Why did it slip away And in the end just memories
Why did those blooming days discolour so synthetically

How should I see with my eyes
How should I know that all the things might die
How should I start to realise - now I know
How should I feel you'll leave me

How should I know that I'm too blind to see
How should I know it's too deep - now I know !

Overall Meaning

Sylvan's song "That's Why It Hurts" explores the themes of loss and the pain that comes with it. The opening lines "I am searching for the silence, hear the sound of pouring rain/An insisting voice of nature as persistent as my pain" convey the search for peace in the midst of pain, with the sound of the rain emphasising the persistence of the pain. The following lines "And I stare out of the window, see the rain clouds passing by/A continuous alternation as unstable as my life" further highlights the instability of life and the constant ebb and flow of emotions that come with it.

The chorus "I shed all my tears, alone in this world/but the longer I weep the more it burns/I whisper my pain, try to fill it with words/but you took them away, that's why it hurts" is a powerful depiction of the aftermath of loss. The pain is so intense that even words cannot fully express it. The verse "Read the last words that you left me 'cos there's nothing else to do/Seems as if I hear your voice, so I look up, but where are you" highlights the desperation to hold on to whatever is left after loss, even if it's just memories.

The repetition of the lines "How should I see with my eyes/How should I know that all the things might die" and "How should I feel you'll leave me/How should I know that I'm too blind to see" emphasises the confusion and the sense of being lost that comes with loss. The song ends on the poignant note "How should I know it's too deep - now I know!" which highlights the realisation that the pain runs deep and that it will take time to heal.

Line by Line Meaning

I am searching for the silence, hear the sound of pouring rain
I am seeking peace and quiet in the midst of the torrential rain, which is a reminder of the persistence of my suffering.

An insisting voice of nature as persistent as my pain
I hear the forceful voice of nature, which echoes the constant pain I feel.

And I stare out of the window, see the rain clouds passing by
I look outside, watching the fleeting rain clouds, mirroring my unstable life.

A continuous alternation as unstable as my life
The constant change in the weather parallels the unpredictable ups and downs of my life.

It's this everlasting echo, it's this dreadful empty room
I am overwhelmed by the persistent echoes of my memories that haunt my empty, desolate space.

It surrounds me full of memories and frustration conquers soon
My mind is consumed by memories, and frustration takes control of my emotions.

And why the hell I have to suffer when the wind speaks out your name
I question why I have to experience such suffering, especially when things around me trigger memories of you.

And in my egocentric vision - psychologically insane
In my perspective, I feel as if I am losing my sanity because my thoughts are consumed with my own self-pity.

I shed all my tears, alone in this world
I cry in solitude, feeling isolated from the rest of the world.

but the longer I weep the more it burns
The longer I cry, the more intense my pain and grief become.

I whisper my pain, try to fill it with words
I try to vocalize my anguish, hoping to find solace and release from it.

but you took them away, that's why it hurts
However, you took away my words and my ability to heal from my pain, which intensifies my hurt.

Read the last words that you left me 'cos there's nothing else to do
The only thing I can do to feel any connection to you is to read the last words you left me.

Seems as if I hear your voice so I look up, but where are you
Although it feels like I can hear your voice, I look around and realize that you're not actually there.

Don't know how long I can stand this - still your perfume in our bed
I do not know how much longer I can endure this pain, as your scent still lingers in the bed we once shared.

God, this emptiness will kill me if I'm not already dead
The emptiness and loneliness I feel is so intense that I fear it will destroy me completely.

When I think of bygone moments - yearning water in my eyes
As I reminisce about the past, I become overwhelmed with emotions and yearning, causing tears to flow down my face.

Still a lot I'd like to tell you, but I can not turn back time
Although there is still so much I long to share with you, I am resigned to the fact that I cannot change the past.

And why the hell I have to suffer in this cruel and unfair world
I continue to question why I must endure pain in a world that seems cruel and unjust.

And when the sun comes out to warm me it's still cold and still it hurts
Even in moments of clarity and positivity, my pain remains, and no outside influence can warm or soothe me.

Why did it slip away And in the end just memories
I wonder why our love had to end and why all that remains are memories.

Why did those blooming days discolour so synthetically
I question why our once flourishing relationship turned unnatural, devoid of its original vibrancy.

How should I see with my eyes
I am struggling to find clarity and make sense of my surroundings.

How should I know that all the things might die
I am uncertain of what the future holds, and am fearful that everything I cherish will inevitably come to an end.

How should I start to realise - now I know
Although I previously could not see or comprehend my pain, I am now coming to terms with it.

How should I feel you'll leave me
I am grappling with the emotions of abandonment and loss that come with you leaving me.

How should I know that I'm too blind to see
I do not realize that my own blindness is preventing me from thinking clearly and finding closure.

How should I know it's too deep - now I know !
I am now acutely aware of the depth of my pain and the difficulty of overcoming it.

Contributed by Logan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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