The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information.
Compilation albums, for example.
Sometimes, single releases may be credited to Various Artists when their profits are going to charity and, usually in high-profile cases, are sometimes known by a group name. Examples include Band Aid with their releases of Do They Know It's Christmas? and USA for Africa with We Are The World.
Various Artists is also an actual performance name for Torsten Pröfrock, who runs the German DIN label. Torsten performs also as Dynamo, Erosion, Resilent, Traktor besides some others. He's a good friend of Robert Henke and since the Fall of 2004, he is a member of Monolake.
Various Artists was also a short-lived Bristol punk band formed by brothers Jonjo and Robin Key (originally from Birmingham). Other members were also simultaneously in Art Objects who went on to become The Blue Aeroplanes, the latter the Key brothers also co-wrote some songs and were involved in. When Various Artists imploded, the Key brothers went on to form Either / Or.
Various Artists also appear on tracks from musical theater soundtracks, due to the nature of having many cast members on one song, as well as an ensemble in some cases.
Away in a Manger
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The stars in the sky look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay
The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The stars in the sky look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay
The lyrics for the Christmas carol, "Away in a Manger," paints a wholesome picture of the night baby Jesus was born. In this song, we find ourselves alongside the little Lord Jesus, who we're told was laid down on a soft bed of hay because there was "no crib for a bed." This imagery of the King of Kings being born in a stable where animals lived not only speaks to the poverty of Jesus' family but also demonstrates the humility of the savior.
The second verse of the carol refers to Jesus' awakening to the sound of the cattle lowing. We're reminded that even though Jesus was God, he came into the world as a vulnerable baby, subject to the same experiences as any other newborn. In this moment, the author of the song, unknown by history, acknowleges that Jesus didn't cry despite being woken by the sounds of the cattle. Finally, the song ends with the author vocalizing his love for Jesus and asking him to stay by his side until the morning.
Line by Line Meaning
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The Lord Jesus was born in a humble place with no proper bedding
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head
The infant Lord Jesus rested his head in a makeshift bed
The stars in the sky look down where He lay
The celestial bodies above shone light on the location where the Lord Jesus was laid
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay
The infant Lord Jesus slept soundly on the hay
The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes
The lowing of the cattle awakened the sleeping baby
But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes
Despite the disturbance, the Lord Jesus remained calm and did not cry
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
The singer expresses love and asks for the Lord Jesus' attention from above
And stay by my cradle till morning is night
The singer asks the Lord Jesus to remain by the cradle until day fades into night
Contributed by Nathaniel T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.