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.
Hey Joe
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
And that ain't too cool
Huh, hey Joe, I heard you shot your mamma down
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
You shot her down in the ground, yeah
Yeah
Yes, I did, I shot her
You know I caught her messin' round, messin' round town
Yes I did, I shot her
You know I caught my old lady messin' 'round town
And I gave her the gun
And I shot her
Alright
Shoot her one more time again, baby
Yeah
Oh, dig it
Oh, alright
Hey Joe
Where you…
The song "Hey Joe" by Various Artists was originally written by Billy Roberts in the 1960s and has been covered by numerous artists over the years. The song tells the story of a man named Joe, who is going down to shoot his old lady because he caught her messing around with another man. The lyrics also suggest that Joe has shot his mother down, and he is now planning to shoot his lady down in the ground. The song creates a dark and violent narrative, which has been interpreted in various ways by different artists over the years.
Some interpretations suggest that the song is a commentary on the male-dominated society of the time, where men felt justified in punishing women who were unfaithful. Others suggest that the song speaks to the desperation and hopelessness that many men felt during this era, as they struggled to come to terms with the changing roles of men and women in society. Regardless of the interpretation, the song remains a powerful and iconic example of 1960s rock music.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun of yours?
Hey Joe, I'm asking where you're headed with that weapon in your hands.
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand, oh
Hey Joe, I repeated my question because I'm curious about where you're taking that firearm.
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady
I'm heading out to shoot my significant other because I caught them cheating.
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
I discovered that she was being unfaithful to me and I'm taking matters into my own hands.
And that ain't too cool
What my partner did to me wasn't cool at all and I'm not going to let it go unpunished.
Huh, hey Joe, I heard you shot your mamma down
Hey Joe, I heard that you shot your mother, is that true?
You shot her down now
Did you really fire upon your mother and bring her down from the mortal coil?
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
Hey Joe, I also heard that you shot your partner, is that true?
You shot her down in the ground, yeah
Did you truly shoot your lover and lay them down in the soil?
Yes, I did, I shot her
Yes, it's true, I shot her down.
You know I caught her messin' round, messin' round town
As I mentioned before, I caught her cheating on me and I took matters into my own hands.
Yes I did, I shot her
Just to reiterate, I shot her because I couldn't handle her infidelity.
And I gave her the gun
I handed her the firearm before shooting her.
And I shot her
And then I pulled the trigger and ended her life.
Alright
Okay.
Shoot her one more time again, baby
I want to shoot her one last time, my dear.
Yeah
Agreement or affirmation.
Oh, dig it
An expression of excitement or enthusiasm.
Oh, alright
Okay.
Hey Joe
Addressing Joe once again.
Writer(s): Kemar Mcgregor, Paul Crossdale, Richie Stephens, Stefan Warren
Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.