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.
Shake It
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, come on
I'll take you home
If you don't leave me at the front door
(Leave me at the front door)
Your body's cold
But girl, we're gettin' so warm
That I could get inside
(Get inside)
Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now
Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it
Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it Your lips tremble
But your eyes are in a straight stare
(In a straight stare)
We're on the bed
But your clothes are laying right there
And I was thinking of places
That I could hide
(I could hide)
Tonight you're falling in love
Let me go now
This feeling's tearing me up
Here we go now
Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it
Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it I saw you dancing
And I couldn't get you off my mind
I could tell that you could tell
That I was taking my time
But I was thinking of ways
To get you to stay tonight
Body's shaking
Tell me off so I can turn off the lights
Now if she does it like this
Will you do it like that?
Now if she touches like this
Will you touch her like that?
Now if she moves like this
Will you move her like that?
Come on, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it
Shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake it
The lyrics to "Shake It" by Various Artists are a mix between flirtatious and suggestive. The singer tells their lover that they will take them home, but only if they do not leave them at the front door. They describe their lover's body as cold, but the singer is getting warmer. They want to find ways to get inside their lover's heart and body. The lyrics suggest that they are both falling in love tonight. The chorus repeats a series of questions, asking if their lover will do certain things if they do something in return. They want to dance and shake together. The singer saw their lover dancing and could not get them off their mind. They want to know how to keep their lover with them tonight. They suggest turning off the lights when their body is shaking, indicating that they may have sex.
Overall, the song has a flirty, party-like vibe that suggests young love and physical connections. The lyrics express a desire to connect and enjoy each other's company without guilt or judgement.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's drop!
Come on, let's start dancing!
I'll take you home
I'll give you a ride back to your place.
If you don't leave me at the front door (Leave me at the front door)
Please don't just drop me off at the curb, walk me to my door.
Your body's cold, but girl, we're gettin' so warm
Despite your cold physical temperature, we're heating up with each other.
And I was thinking of ways that I could get inside (Get inside)
I'm trying to come up with ideas to fully connect with you.
Tonight you're falling in love
This evening, you're gradually falling in love with me.
Let me go now, this feeling's tearing me up
I'm getting too emotional, so please let me go.
Here we go now
Let's get started.
Now if she does it like this, will you do it like that?
If my partner does something, will they reciprocate it?
Now if she touches like this, will you touch her like that?
If my partner touches me a certain way, will they return the same kind of touch?
Now if she moves like this, will you move her like that?
If my partner moves in a certain way, will they react accordingly?
Come on, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake it.
Let's keep dancing and moving our bodies!
Your lips tremble, but your eyes are in a straight stare (In a straight stare)
You're feeling nervous or scared, but your eyes show no expression of it.
We're on the bed, but your clothes are laying right there
We're on the bed, but you haven't fully undressed yet.
And I was thinking of places that I could hide (I could hide)
I'm trying to come up with ways to discreetly get you to stay with me for the night.
I saw you dancing, and I couldn't get you off my mind
I saw you enjoying yourself while dancing, and couldn't stop thinking about you.
I could tell that you could tell that I was taking my time
I sensed that you knew I was taking my time to approach you.
Body's shaking, tell me off so I can turn off the lights
Your body is trembling with excitement, tell me to stop so we can rest and turn off the lights.
Writer(s): Jeremy Harding, Sean Paul Henriques
Contributed by Scarlett N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.