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.
Here With Me
Various Artists Lyrics
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I wonder how am I still here
I don't want to move a thing
It might change my memory
Oh I am what I am
I'll do what I want but I can't hide
I won't go I won't sleep
I won't leave I can't hide
I cannot be until you're resting here with me
I don't want to call my friends
They might wake me from this dream
And I can't leave this bed,
Risk forgetting all that's been
Oh I am what I am
I'll do what I want,
But I can't hide
I won't go, I won't sleep,
I can't breathe until you're resting here with me
I won't leave, I can't hide
I cannot be until you're resting here with me.
The lyrics of Various Artists' song "Here With Me" paint an image of a person who is still in bed all alone, after waking up and finding that the person they love is no longer there. The first verse "I didn't hear you leave, I wonder how am I still here" is a classic feeling of nostalgia and confusion, wondering how time has passed so quickly and how they did not even hear the other person leave. The second verse "I don't want to call my friends, they might wake me from this dream. And I can't leave this bed, risk forgetting all that's been" shows that the person wants to hold onto the memory of the other person, and they are afraid that waking up completely may make them forget all that has happened.
The chorus, "Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want but I can't hide, I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe until you're resting here with me. I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be until you're resting here with me" reveals that the person is willing to face anything that comes their way as long as they have the person they love resting with them. They cannot function without them, and they cannot hide their love. The lyrics show the depth and power of human emotion, and how much one person can mean to someone else.
Writer(s): Mark August Stoermer, Brandon Flowers, Francis Healy, RonnieVannucci Jr, Dave Brent Keuning
Contributed by Arianna L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.