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.
Pretty Woman
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
Pretty woman
I don′t believe you, you're not the truth
No one could look as good as you
Mercy
Pretty woman, won′t you pardon me?
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
Then you look lovely as can be
Are you lonely just like me?
Rrrraw
Pretty woman, stop a while
Pretty woman, talk a while
Pretty woman, gave your smile to me
Pretty woman, yeah yeah yeah
Pretty woman, look my way
Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me
′Cause I need you, I′ll treat you right
Come with me baby, be mine tonight
Pretty woman, don't walk on by
Pretty woman, don′t make me cry
Pretty woman, don't walk away, hey, okay
If that′s the way it must be, okay
I guess I'll go on home, it′s late
There'll be tomorrow night, but wait
What do I see
Is she walking back to me
Yeah, she's walking back to me
Oh, oh, pretty woman
In the iconic song "Pretty Woman," the artist expresses admiration for a beautiful woman he sees walking down the street. The opening lines repeat the phrase "pretty woman" to emphasize his immediate attraction to her. He then expresses disbelief that someone could look as good as her, all the while acknowledging her physical appearance. He asks her if she's lonely, making a connection to her possible emotional state. He stops her and tries to engage her in conversation, admiring her smile and beauty. He implores her to stay with him and promises to treat her right, indicating his sincere interest and desire for something more than just a passing encounter. However, at the end of the song, he acknowledges that she may not reciprocate his feelings and lets her walk away, but is surprised when she returns to him.
In the song, the singer's admiration for the woman is apparent, but the focus is not just on her beauty. He seems to genuinely want to connect with her and suggests that they might have something in common by asking if she's lonely. It's a classic love-at-first-sight story that resonated with audiences then and continues to do so now. The lyrics are relatively simple, but their repetitive nature and catchy melody make it an unforgettable tune.
Line by Line Meaning
Pretty woman, walking down the street
An attractive woman is walking down the street
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
The singer likes attractive women
Pretty woman
An attractive woman
I don′t believe you, you're not the truth
The artist is in disbelief of how attractive the woman is
No one could look as good as you
The artist thinks the woman is the most attractive person they've ever seen
Mercy
The singer is impressed by the woman's beauty
Pretty woman, won′t you pardon me?
The singer wants to apologize for staring
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
The artist couldn't help looking at the woman
Pretty woman
An attractive woman
Then you look lovely as can be
The artist thinks the woman looks amazing
Are you lonely just like me?
The singer wonders if the woman is also feeling lonely
Rrrraw
The artist is expressing their attraction to the woman
Pretty woman, stop a while
The singer wants the woman to stay for a bit
Pretty woman, talk a while
The singer wants to talk to the woman
Pretty woman, gave your smile to me
The singer is happy the woman gave him a smile
Pretty woman, yeah yeah yeah
The artist is expressing excitement about the woman
Pretty woman, look my way
The artist wants the woman to look at him
Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me
The singer wants the woman to spend time with him
′Cause I need you, I′ll treat you right
The singer wants to take care of the woman
Come with me baby, be mine tonight
The artist is asking the woman to spend the night with him
Pretty woman, don't walk on by
The artist doesn't want the woman to leave
Pretty woman, don′t make me cry
The artist is upset at the thought of the woman leaving
Pretty woman, don't walk away, hey, okay
The singer doesn't want the woman to leave
If that′s the way it must be, okay
The artist is accepting if the woman decides to leave
I guess I'll go on home, it′s late
The singer is going to go home for the night
There'll be tomorrow night, but wait
The singer is hopeful they will see the woman again
What do I see
The singer has noticed something
Is she walking back to me
The woman is walking back towards the artist
Yeah, she's walking back to me
The woman is walking towards the artist
Oh, oh, pretty woman
The singer is excited to see the woman again
Writer(s): A. C. Williams
Contributed by Mackenzie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.