After having taken piano lessons, Vangelis began his professional musical career working with several popular bands of the 1960s such as the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child, with the latter's album 666 going on to be recognized as a psychedelic classic. Throughout the 1970s, Vangelis composed music scores for several animal documentaries, including L'Apocalypse des Animaux, La Fรชte sauvage and Opรฉra sauvage; the success of these scores brought him into the film scoring mainstream. In the early 1980s, Vangelis formed a musical partnership with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of progressive rock band Yes, and the duo went on to release several albums together as Jon & Vangelis.
In 1981, he composed the score for the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The soundtrack's single, the film's "Titles" theme, also reached the top of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and was used as the background music at the London 2012 Olympics winners' medal presentation ceremonies. Vangelis also received acclaim for his synthesizer-based soundtrack for the 1982 film Blade Runner.
Having had a career in music spanning over 70 years and having composed and performed more than 50 albums, Vangelis is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of electronic music.
Vangelis was born 29 March 1943, in Agria, near Volos, Greece. Largely a self-taught musician, he reportedly began composing at the age of three. His earliest memory is "playing piano, some percussion and whatever else that was available that made a noise. Right from the start, I was only interested in playing my own music". He refused to take traditional piano lessons, and throughout his career did not have substantial knowledge of reading or writing musical notation. When he was six, Vangelis's parents enrolled him at a specialist music school in Athens. He recalls "I was lucky not to go because music schools close doors rather than open them". He studied painting, an art he still practices, at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
In 1989 received Max Steiner Award. France made Vangelis a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1992 and promoted to Commander in 2017, as well Chevalier de la Legion dโ Honneur in 2001. In 1993 received music award Apollo by Friends of the Athens National Opera Society. In 1995, Vangelis had a minor planet named after him (6354 Vangelis) by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; the name was proposed by the MPC's co-director, Gareth V. Williams, rather than by the object's original discoverer, Eugรจne Joseph Delporte, who died in 1955, long before the 1934 discovery could be confirmed by observations made in 1990. In 1996 and 1997 was awarded at World Music Awards.
NASA conferred their Public Service Medal to Vangelis in 2003. The award is the highest honour the space agency presents to an individual not involved with the American government. Five years later, in 2008, the board of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens voted to make Vangelis an Honorary Doctor, making him Professor Emeritus at their Faculty of Primary Education. In June 2008, the American Hellenic Institute honoured Vangelis with an AHI Hellenic Heritage Achievement Award for his "exceptional artistic achievements" as a pioneer in electronic music and for his lifelong dedication to the promotion of Hellenism through the arts. On 16 September 2013, he received the honour of appearing on the Greek 80 cent postage stamp, as part of a series of six distinguished living personalities of the Greek Diaspora.
A Way
Vangelis Lyrics
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Am I so lost in my sin
You ask me where did I fall
I'll say I can't tell you when
But if my spirit is lost
How will I find what is near
Don't question I'm not alone
Somehow I'll find my way home
My sun shall rise in the east
So shall my heart be at peace
And if you're asking me when
I'll say it starts at the end
You know your will to be free
Is matched with love secretly
And talk will alter your prayer
Somehow you'll find you are there.
Your friend is close by your side
And speaks in far ancient tongue
A seasons wish will come true
All seasons begin with you
One world we all come from
One world we melt into one
Just hold my hand and we're there
Somehow we're going somewhere
Somehow we're going somewhere
You ask me where to begin
Am I so lost in my sin
You ask me where did I fall
I'll say I can't tell you when
But if my spirit is strong
I know it can't be long
No questions I'm not alone
Somehow I'll find my way home
Somehow I'll find my way home
Somehow I'll find my way home
Somehow I'll find my way home
The song 'I'll Find My Way Home' by Vangelis is a contemplative and introspective piece that touches upon themes of self-discovery, the search for meaning, and the journey towards finding one's own path in life. The opening lines of the song express the singer's confusion about where to begin, asking "You ask me where to begin / Am I so lost in my sin / You ask me where did I fall / I'll say I can't tell you when." The singer portrays himself as lost and unsure of where he is going, haunted by his past mistakes and sins.
The main refrain of the song, "Somehow I'll find my way home," is a repeated message of hope and resilience, suggesting that even though one may feel lost and uncertain, the path towards self-discovery and inner peace is always within reach. The song's lyrics also allude to the idea of fate and destiny, as the singer expresses his belief that "if my spirit is strong, I know it can't be long" before he finds his way home. The final lines of the song suggest that the singer is not alone in his search for meaning, as he is accompanied by a friend who speaks in far ancient tongue, possibly representing the wisdom of the ages.
Overall, 'I'll Find My Way Home' is a deeply reflective song that encourages the listener to embrace their own journey of self-discovery, and to trust that even in moments of uncertainty and doubt, they will eventually find their way home.
Line by Line Meaning
You ask me where to begin
You want to know where to start
Am I so lost in my sin
Am I so deeply entrenched in my wrongful behavior
You ask me where did I fall
You want to know when I lost my way
I'll say I can't tell you when
I'll tell you that I do not know
But if my spirit is lost
If I have lost my way in life
How will I find what is near
How will I find what is close to me
Don't question I'm not alone
Do not ask me if I am alone
Somehow I'll find my way home
I will find my way back to where I belong, somehow
My sun shall rise in the east
My life will improve, starting from the east
So shall my heart be at peace
As a result, I will find inner peace
And if you're asking me when
If you're wondering when this will happen
I'll say it starts at the end
I'll tell you that it begins at the end
You know your will to be free
You are aware of your desire for freedom
Is matched with love secretly
It is equalled by your secret, underlying love
And talk will alter your prayer
Speaking out loud may change the course of your prayers
Somehow you'll find you are there.
In some way, you'll discover that you've arrived
Your friend is close by your side
Your companion is nearby
And speaks in far ancient tongue
And speaks in a language that has not been used for a long time
A seasons wish will come true
A wish related to a season will come to fruition
All seasons begin with you
All seasons and their cycles start with you
One world we all come from
We all come from the same world
One world we melt into one
We all come together as one in the end
Just hold my hand and we're there
Take my hand and we will reach our destination together
Somehow we're going somewhere
In some way, we are moving forward
But if my spirit is strong
However, if I have the strength to persevere
I know it can't be long
I know that it won't take much longer
No questions I'm not alone
Do not ask me if I am alone, because I am not
Somehow I'll find my way home
I will find my way back to where I belong, somehow
Somehow I'll find my way home
I will find my way back to where I belong, somehow
Somehow I'll find my way home
I will find my way back to where I belong, somehow
Somehow I'll find my way home
I will find my way back to where I belong, somehow
Lyrics ยฉ Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EVANGELOS PAPATHANASSIOU, JON ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind