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.
Prison Song
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Locked in, bars of steel
Leave my woman tonight
Just ain't feeling right
Cold chills, prison cells
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Cold chills, prison cells
Locked in, bars of steel
Be merciful to our abusers
Leave my woman tonight
They don't know what they do
Just ain't feeling right
Thinking you lost your senses
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Cold chills, prison cells
What can you do when they...?
Set your, people free
Locked in, bars of steel
Ooh, you better collect your pieces
Be merciful to our abusers
Leave my woman tonight
Freedom, it waits out here
They don't know what they do
Just ain't feeling right
You don't have to go to prison
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Cold chills, prison cells
But will it accomplish you?
Set your, people free
Locked in, bars of steel
Ku Klux Klan, they're laughing
Be merciful to our abusers
Leave my woman tonight
Damning the thought of you
They don't know what they do
Just ain't feeling right
Condemning you to your suffering
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Cold chills, prison cells
Is that what you really want?
Set your, people free
Locked in, bars of steel
Prison, it's all a prison
Be merciful to our abusers
Leave my woman tonight
Marking your time on walls
They don't know what they do
Just ain't feeling right
Think you better change your motto
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Cold chills, prison cells
Wiping away the mourn
Set your, people free
Locked in, bars of steel
There in the bars, let's follow
Be merciful to our abusers
Leave my woman tonight
Tell me your days aren't done
They don't know what they do
Just ain't feeling right
"Vengeance is mine," said the Lord
The song "Prison Song" by Various Artists presents a sombre meditation on the prison system in America. The song speaks to the inhumanity of locking people up behind bars and depriving them of their freedom. The lyrics are simple but poignant, with lines like "Cold chills, prison cells" and "Locked in, bars of steel" that capture the oppressive nature of imprisonment. The singer, perhaps an inmate or someone on the outside looking in, laments his loss of freedom and separation from his loved ones. He calls for mercy for the abusers, presumably the guards or other prison officials, and for the release of all prisoners. The song suggests that the prison system is a form of social control that perpetuates injustice and suffering, rather than truly rehabilitating and reforming offenders.
Overall, "Prison Song" is a powerful commentary on the state of the prison system in America. It highlights the pain and trauma experienced by those imprisoned, as well as the larger social and political issues that contribute to mass incarceration. It challenges listeners to confront the reality of the prison system and to consider alternatives to punishment and confinement.
Line by Line Meaning
Cold chills, prison cells
The discomfort and desolation of living behind bars.
Locked in, bars of steel
Confined behind impenetrable barriers.
Leave my woman tonight
Separating from a loved one due to imprisonment.
Just ain't feeling right
Feeling uneasy and disturbed by the situation.
Oh my Lord, praise him be
Addressing and praising the Divine.
Set your, people free
Asking for freedom for all humankind.
Be merciful to our abusers
Requesting kindness and forgiveness for those who caused harm.
They don't know what they do
Acknowledging the unknowingness and ignorance of the oppressors.
Thinking you lost your senses
Believing that sanity has been compromised.
What can you do when they...?
Expressing powerlessness in the face of oppression.
Ooh, you better collect your pieces
Urging to gather oneself and find inner strength.
Freedom, it waits out here
Reminding that freedom is possible outside the prison walls.
You don't have to go to prison
Suggesting alternatives to incarceration.
But will it accomplish you?
Questioning the effectiveness of punitive measures.
Ku Klux Klan, they're laughing
Highlighting the oppressive and discriminatory nature of society.
Damning the thought of you
Condemning and rejecting the notion of imprisonment.
Condemning you to your suffering
Casting judgment and causing pain.
Is that what you really want?
Asking if suffering and punishment are truly desired outcomes.
Prison, it's all a prison
Recognizing that the whole world can feel like a confined space.
Marking your time on walls
Noting the passage of time and the lack of agency in the situation.
Think you better change your motto
Encouraging to reconsider one's guiding principle.
Wiping away the mourn
Easing the sorrow and pain of loss.
There in the bars, let's follow
Staying vigilant and aware of the oppression.
Tell me your days aren't done
Requesting hope and resilience.
"Vengeance is mine," said the Lord
Quoting the divine words of retribution and justice.
Contributed by Jackson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.