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.
Down Down
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Down we plunge to the prison of my mind!
Down that path into darkness, deep as hell!
Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place?
Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!
Track down this murderer!
Track down this murderer!
He must be found!
Hounded out by everyone!
Met with hatred everywhere!
No kind word from anyone!
No compassion anywhere!
Christine, Christine
Why, why?
Your hand at the level of your eyes!
At the level of your eyes
Your hand at the level of your eyes!
Have you gorged yourself at last, in your lust for blood?
Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?
That fate, which condemns me to wallow in blood
Has also denied me the joys of the flesh
This face, the infection which poisons our love
This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing
A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing . . .
Pity comes too late
Turn around and face your fate
An eternity of this before your eyes!
This haunted face holds no horror for me now
It's in your soul that the true distortion lies
Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!
Sir
Raoul!
This is indeed an unparalleled delight!
I had rather hoped that you would come
And now my wish comes true
You have truly made my night!
Let me go!
Free her!
Do what you like, only free her!
Have you no pity?
Your lover makes a passionate plea!
Please, Raoul, it's useless
I love her!
Does that mean nothing?
I love her!
Show some compassion
The world showed no compassion to me!
Christine
Christine
Let me see her
Be my guest, sir
Monsieur, I bid you welcome!
Did you think that I would harm her?
Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?
Order your fine horses now!
Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes!
Nothing can save you now, except perhaps Christine
Start a new life with me
Buy his freedom with your love!
Refuse me, and you send your lover to his death!
This is the choice
This is the point of no return!
The tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold
And turn to tears of hate
Christine, forgive me, please forgive me
I did it all for you, and all for nothing
Farewell my fallen idol
And false friend
We had such hopes and now those hopes are shattered
Too late for turning back
Too late for prayers and useless pity
Say you love him and my life is over
Past all hope of cries for help, no point in fighting
Either way you choose, he has to win
For either way you choose, you cannot win!
So, do you end your days with me
Or do you send him to his grave?
Why make her lie to you, to save me?
Angel of Music
Past the point of no return
For pity's sake, Christine, say no!
Who deserves this?
The final threshold
Don't throw your life away for my sake
When will you see reason?
His life is now the prize which you must earn!
I fought so hard to free you
You've passed the point of no return
Angel of Music
You deceived me
I gave my mind blindly
You try my patience, make your choice!
Pitiful creature of darkness
What kind of life have you known?
God, give me courage to show you you are not alone
Track down this murderer
He must be found!
Hunt out this animal, who runs to ground!
Take her, forget me, forget all of this
Leave me alone, forget all you've seen
Go now, don't let them find you!
Take the boat, swear to me never to
The secrets you know of the angel in hell
Go now, go now and leave me!
Masquerade
Paper faces on parade
Masquerade
Hide your face
So the world will never find you
Christine, I love you
Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Say the word
And I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
You alone can make my song take flight
It's over now, the music of the night
The chosen lyrics are from the musical "The Phantom of the Opera." The song "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer", presents the final scene of the musical, in which the audience finds out why the Phantom has been living in the shadows of the Paris Opera, and what his true intentions are. The scene opens with the Phantom exclaiming "Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair!" The phrase is a reference to the underground lair where he has been living and where he plans to take Christine and Raoul. The Phantom's deep, melodic voice and the music set the tone of the scene, filled with tension and suspense.
In the following verses, the Phantom addresses his captors, explaining why he has been living in the shadows of the opera house. He reveals that his appearance made him an outcast in the society, and he was forced to live in hiding because of his disfigured face. The chorus repeats the phrase "Track down this murderer! He must be found!" The lines refer to the Phantom, whom the people of Paris have been hunting down because they believe he is responsible for the recent murders in the opera house. The Phantom resents being regarded as a murderer and feels wronged that no one has ever shown him kindness or compassion.
Christine makes an appearance, and the Phantom confronts her about her love for him. He accuses her of being a hypocrite, who has been using him for his musical talents. He tries to convince her to stay with him, but she chooses love over his manipulative ways. Raoul also appears, and the Phantom creates a choice for Christine, asking her to choose between Raoul's life and his own. The song reaches its climax when Christine delivers the final line, "It's over now, the music of the night."
Line by Line Meaning
Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair!
I am falling deeper into my negative emotions.
Down we plunge to the prison of my mind!
I am trapped in my own thoughts and feelings.
Down that path into darkness, deep as hell!
I am going into a very dark and scary place.
Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place?
I am unjustly punished and confined for being physically unattractive.
Not for any mortal sin, but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!
I am not guilty of any sin but having an ugly face.
Track down this murderer!
Find and capture this killer!
He must be found!
We need to locate this criminal!
Hounded out by everyone!
Everyone is chasing me away.
Met with hatred everywhere!
People hate me and treat me badly.
No kind word from anyone!
No one has anything nice to say to me.
No compassion anywhere!
No one shows me any mercy or kindness.
Christine, Christine
Why, why?
Your hand at the level of your eyes!
Christine, why are you holding your hand at your eye level? What are you doing?
At the level of your eyes
Have you gorged yourself at last, in your lust for blood?
Have you finally become a savage predator who indulges in bloodlust?
Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?
That fate, which condemns me to wallow in blood
Has also denied me the joys of the flesh
This face, the infection which poisons our love
This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing
A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing . . .
Am I now condemned to be your victim of cannibalism? My fate is to be stuck in a cycle of violence which not only deprives me of physical pleasure but also ruins our doomed romantic relationship. My facial appearance repulses even my own mother, and the mask is the only protection I have.
Pity comes too late
Turn around and face your fate
An eternity of this before your eyes!
It's too late for anyone to feel sorry for me or make things right. I have to accept my destiny and suffer through this for an endless amount of time.
This haunted face holds no horror for me now
It's in your soul that the true distortion lies
My face might scare others, but it's nothing compared to the evil inside of you.
Wait! I think, my dear we have a guest!
Sir
Raoul!
This is indeed an unparalleled delight!
I had rather hoped that you would come
And now my wish comes true
You have truly made my night!
Oh look, our guest of honor has arrived! Raoul, how delightful to see you! I'm so glad you came. You just made my night!
Let me go!
Free her!
Do what you like, only free her!
Have you no pity?
Let me leave this place! Release Christine from your grasp. Do what you have to do but let her go. Don't you have any compassion at all?
Your lover makes a passionate plea!
Please, Raoul, it's useless
I love her!
Does that mean nothing?
Christine begs you to let her go. Please, Raoul, don't try to save me because it's pointless. I love her but my feelings don't matter to you?
Show some compassion
The world showed no compassion to me!
Be merciful to me. I haven't received any kindness from the world, so you should show me some.
Christine
Let me see her
Be my guest, sir
Monsieur, I bid you welcome!
Christine is here, let me introduce you. Welcome, sir, please come in.
Did you think that I would harm her?
Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?
Of course I wouldn't harm Christine. Why would I make her suffer for what you've done?
Order your fine horses now!
Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes!
Nothing can save you now, except perhaps Christine
Get ready to leave this place. Keep your hand raised to your eye level. Nothing can save you except Christine perhaps.
Start a new life with me
Buy his freedom with your love!
Refuse me, and you send your lover to his death!
This is the choice
This is the point of no return!
You have a choice to make. Come with me and start a new life. You can save your lover by giving your love to me as I have the power to free him, but if you refuse, you will seal his fate that he will die. This is the ultimate decision that changes everything -once you make it, there's no turning back.
The tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold
And turn to tears of hate
Instead of feeling sorry for you, I now feel angry and resentful towards you.
Christine, forgive me, please forgive me
I did it all for you, and all for nothing
Farewell, my fallen idol
And false friend
We had such hopes and now those hopes are shattered
Christine, I ask for your forgiveness. Everything I've done, have done in vain. Farewell, say goodbye to everything and everyone we both hoped for, only to realize those dreams got shatter by me.
Too late for turning back
Too late for prayers and useless pity
It's too late to change the decisions we've both made. You won't get anywhere if you pray or feel sorry for what happened.
Say you love him and my life is over
Past all hope of cries for help, no point in fighting
Either way you choose, he has to win
For either way you choose, you cannot win!
If you say that you love him, it means my life is over. You're hopeless, and even crying out for help won't change a thing. If you choose him or choose me, either way he wins and you lose.
So, do you end your days with me
Or do you send him to his grave?
Why make her lie to you, to save me?
You have to choose between sealing your fate with me or sending him to his death. Why would you make her lie and pretend to love you to save me?
Angel of Music
Past the point of no return
For pity's sake, Christine, say no!
You call me the Angel of Music, but we've gone too far and there's no way back. Please have mercy on yourself and say no!
Who deserves this?
The final threshold
Don't throw your life away for my sake
When will you see reason?
Who deserves this? We're at the last point of no return. Don't waste your life for my sake. When will you come to your senses?
His life is now the prize which you must earn!
I fought so hard to free you
You've passed the point of no return
You have to earn his life since that's the new challenge. Despite all these struggles, I tried to save you but you're beyond saving now.
You deceived me
I gave my mind blindly
You try my patience, make your choice!
You tricked me and convinced me blindly. You're testing my patience, so make a choice now!
Pitiful creature of darkness
What kind of life have you known?
God, give me courage to show you you are not alone
You poor, unfortunate being of darkness. What kind of life have you lived? Dear God, please give me inner strength to make you know you're not lonely anymore.
Track down this murderer
Hunt out this animal, who runs to ground!
Find this murderer and track him down, even if he's running away.
Take her, forget me, forget all of this
Leave me alone, forget all you've seen
Go now, don't let them find you!
Take the boat, swear to me never to
The secrets you know of the angel in hell
Go now, go now and leave me!
Take her, abandon me and forget everything that happened. Don't tell anyone the secrets you know about me. Go now and leave me forever.
Masquerade
Paper faces on parade
This is a masquerade, where people wear paper faces to hide their true identity.
Hide your face
So the world will never find you
Conceal your face that no one can ever see or recognize you.
Christine, I love you
Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Say the word
And I will follow you
Share each day with me
Each night, each morning
You alone can make my song take flight
Christine, I adore you. Will you commit to me to share one love story between us? Let me know by saying the word, and I'll be your loyal follower forever. Share everything with me - day, night and morning. Only you can inspire my musical talent.
It's over now, the music of the night
The night's melody has vanished; the song is over now.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind