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.
Long Tall Sally
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He claim he has the misery but he's havin′ a lot of fun
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
Well long, tall Sally
She's built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby
Havin′ me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin′ and he ducked back in the alley oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah, ow
Well, long, tall Sally
She′s built for speed, she got
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby
Yeah baby, woo baby
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin′ and he ducked back in the alley, oh, baby
Yeah baby, woo, baby
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
We gonna have some fun tonight
We gonna have some fun tonight, woo
Have some fun tonight, everything′s all right
Have some fun, have me some fun tonight
The lyrics of "Long Tall Sally" speak of a man named Uncle John who is having a good time despite claiming to be miserable. The singer plans to tell Aunt Mary, probably Uncle John's wife, about his behavior. The first verse and chorus describe the excitement and fun the singer is having. He then goes on to reveal that he saw Uncle John with a woman named Long Tall Sally, who apparently has everything he needs. Uncle John tries to hide from Aunt Mary, but he is caught when he is seen with another woman named Bald-Head Sally. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and a statement of the singer's intention to have some fun tonight.
Line by Line Meaning
Gonna tell Aunt Mary ′bout Uncle John
I am going to inform Aunt Mary about Uncle John
He claim he has the misery but he's havin′ a lot of fun
He claims to be in pain, but he is actually having a lot of fun
Oh baby, yeah baby, woo
Expressing excitement and enthusiasm
Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah
I am going to have some fun tonight
Well long, tall Sally
Referring to the woman named Sally who is tall and has an attractive figure
She's built for speed, she got
She is fast and agile, she possesses
Everything that Uncle John need, oh baby
She has all the qualities that Uncle John desires
Well, I saw Uncle John with long tall Sally
I witnessed Uncle John with the woman named Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin′ and he ducked back in the alley oh baby
He noticed Aunt Mary approaching and quickly hid in the alley
Havin′ me some fun tonight, yeah, ow
I am going to have some fun tonight, expressing excitement
Well, I saw Uncle John with bald-head Sally
I saw Uncle John with a different woman, named Bald-head Sally
He saw Aunt Mary comin′ and he ducked back in the alley, oh, baby
He observed Aunt Mary approaching and quickly hid again
We gonna have some fun tonight
We are going to have a good time tonight
everything′s all right
Everything is fine and in order
Have some fun, have me some fun tonight
I am going to have fun tonight
Writer(s): Richard Penniman, Enntris Johnson, Robert A. Blackwell
Contributed by Callie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.