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 PrΓΆfrock, 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.
Mr Tambourine Man
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you.
Though i know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
vanished from my hand,
left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
my weariness amazes me, i'm branded on my feet,
and the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
Hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
my senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
my toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
to be wanderin'.
i'm ready to go anywhere, i'm ready for to fade
into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
i promise to go under it.
Hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you.
Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
it's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
and but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
and if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
to your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
i wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
seein' that he's chasing.
Hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you.
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
the haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
let me forget about today until tomorrow.
Hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you
In "Mr. Tambourine Man," the singer pleads for the eponymous Mr. Tambourine Man to play a song for him. The singer can't sleep and has nowhere to go, but he's not worried about it. He's mesmerized by Mr. Tambourine Man's music and will follow him anywhere.
The first stanza sets the scene: the singer is awake, and nothing obligates him to be somewhere. He's probably been up all night, and he's not tired. He addresses Mr. Tambourine Man twice, asserting that he's ready to listen to whatever Mr. Tambourine Man wants to play.
The second stanza describes the current state of the singer's weariness, suggesting danger or excitement. Nevertheless, he is fascinated by Mr. Tambourine Man and can't wait to join him. The third stanza is an opportunity for the singer to go on a journey with Mr. Tambourine Man. He wants to go anywhere, as long as he can be cast under Mr. Tambourine Man's spell. He pledges to go wherever the spell takes him.
The fourth stanza is vivid, with strong imagery of a circus by the seaside. The tambourine man is no longer alone; rather, he's part of a circus, and the singer is there too. They've left their old lives behind 'the twisted reach of crazy sorrow' and have created a new world for themselves. It's a place where all memories and fate disappear into the waves, leaving only the present. The singer is eager to follow, though he doesn't know where they are going.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey! mr. tambourine man, play a song for me,
Asking the tambourine man to play a song for him
i'm not sleepy and there is no place i'm going to.
Not feeling sleepy and having nowhere to go
in the jingle jangle morning i'll come followin' you.
Willing to follow the tambourine man in the morning
Though i know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Knowing that the nighttime is over
vanished from my hand,
The nighttime has passed
left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
Feeling awake and alert despite having nothing to do
my weariness amazes me, i'm branded on my feet,
Feeling tired and exhausted, with a sense of permanence
i have no one to meet
Having no social obligations or plans
and the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
The deserted street is too quiet to inspire any daydreams
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
Asking the tambourine man to take him on a journey
my senses have been stripped, my hands can't feel to grip,
Feeling disoriented and unable to hold onto anything
my toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels to be wanderin'.
Feeling restless and eager to travel
i'm ready to go anywhere, i'm ready for to fade into my own parade,
Willing to go anywhere and do anything
cast your dancing spell my way, i promise to go under it.
Willing to let the tambourine man guide him on this journey
Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
Explaining the wild sounds that might be heard on this journey
it's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
The sounds are not targeted at anyone; they just represent escape
and but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
Feeling free and unencumbered on this journey
and if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme to your tambourine in time,
Hearing snippets of music that seem to match the tambourine beat
it's just a ragged clown behind, i wouldn't pay it any mind,
Assuring that the strange clown is harmless
it's just a shadow you're seein' that he's chasing.
Explaining that the clown is just a fleeting illusion
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Asking the tambourine man to take him on a journey of the mind
down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
Imagining a journey through history to a distant, wintry place
the haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Imagining a journey to the seashore, encountering spooky trees along the way
far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Escaping from the pain and chaos of life
yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Desiring to dance under the beautiful, sparkling sky with a sense of liberation
silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
Stunned by the beauty of the natural world and the strange, mystical surroundings
with all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Letting go of worries and troubles and surrendering to the moment
let me forget about today until tomorrow.
Hoping to let go of the present and focus on the potential of the future
Contributed by Nicholas C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.