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.
Sleeping Beauty
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the dream that died
With the Eagle's flight
I blame you for the moonlit nights
When I wonder why
Are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite
Did we squander the chance
In the rush of the race
The reason we chase is lost in romance
And still we try
To justify the waste
For a taste of man's greatest adventure
I blame you for the moonlit sky
And the dream that died
With the Eagle's flight
I blame you for the moonlit nights
When I wonder why
Are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite
Have we lost what it takes to advance?
Have we peaked too soon?
If the world is so green
Then why does it scream under a blue moon
We wonder why
If the earth's sacrificed
For the price of it's greatest treasure
I blame you for the moonlit sky
And the dream that died
With the Eagle's flight
I blame you for the moonlit nights
When I wonder why
Are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite
And when we shoot for stars
What a giant step
Have we got what it takes
To carry the weight of this concept
Or pass it by like a shot in the dark
Miss the mark with a sense of adventure
I blame you for the moonlit sky
And the dream that died
With the Eagle's flight
I blame you for the moonlit nights
When I wonder why
Are the seas still dry?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite
The lyrics of "Sleeping Satellite" by Various Artists expresses a sense of disappointment in humanity's failed attempt to achieve great feats. The song is largely critical of the “space race” between the United States and Russia in the 1960s, particularly in the lyrics “Did we fly to the moon too soon?”, “In the rush of the race, the reason we chase is lost in romance,” and “For a taste of man's greatest adventure.” Despite this, the singer also acknowledges that they cannot solely blame anyone for the failures in humanity's endeavors, as seen in the lyrics “Don't blame this sleeping satellite.”
The theme of disappointment and loss continues as the song discusses the problems with the environment and humanity's responsibility for it. In the lyrics “Have we lost what it takes to advance? Have we peaked too soon?”, the song suggests that the world has reached a critical point where humanity must take responsibility for their actions before it is too late. The chorus "I blame you for the moonlit sky, and the dream that died with the Eagle's flight, I blame you for the moonlit nights, when I wonder why are the seas still dry?" suggests that the singer is perceiving the world's problems from a space satellite, hence the title "Sleeping Satellite".
Overall, “Sleeping Satellite” is a commentary on humanity's failed attempts at progress, self-reflection on the consequences that followed, and the responsibility of all humans to make a change.
Line by Line Meaning
I blame you for the moonlit sky
I hold you responsible for the beautiful, yet haunting, sight of the moon in the night sky
And the dream that died
And for the unrealized aspiration of achieving great things that had to be abandoned
With the Eagle's flight
Alongside the journey of the astronauts who flew to the moon as a part of Apollo 11 mission undertaken by the United States
I blame you for the moonlit nights
I hold you responsible for the melancholic and thoughtful moments that are spent under the light of the moon
When I wonder why
Times when I cannot help but question why things are the way they are
Are the seas still dry?
Are the sea levels still rising because of mankind's negligence towards the environment?
Don't blame this sleeping satellite
The moon has no fault in the problems we face as a planet, it is the human factor that should be held liable
Did we fly to the moon too soon
Did we attempt to conquer the moon without fully comprehending the consequences and the risks involved?
Did we squander the chance
Did we waste the opportunity that we had for the sake of the competition between nations, instead of focusing on the bigger picture?
In the rush of the race
Caught in the fervour of the pursuit to elevate our country's status, we ignored the lessons we could have learned from space exploration
The reason we chase is lost in romance
The excitement and glamour of scientific exploration may have led us astray, making us overlook the pragmatic reasons for space exploration
And still we try
Despite the setbacks we have faced on the way, we continue our endeavours to reach even greater heights
To justify the waste
To make ourselves feel better about the squandering of resources and the cost of human lives that were spent on space exploration
For a taste of man's greatest adventure
In pursuit of one of the greatest challenges we could undertake as a species
Have we lost what it takes to advance?
Have we lost the drive and the spirit of curiosity that made us pursue the unknown and the impossible?
Have we peaked too soon?
Did we reach the zenith of our scientific and technological abilities long before we should have?
If the world is so green
If we have been gifted with such a beautiful and flourishing planet
Then why does it scream under a blue moon
Why is it facing the crisis of climate change and the destruction of ecosystems, under the watch of the silent moon?
We wonder why
We cannot help but ponder over the causes of such an ecological imbalance
If the earth's sacrificed
If we have to give up so much of what we have for the sake of technological advancement and economic growth
For the price of it's greatest treasure
If the cost that we are paying far exceeds the benefits that we are accruing
And when we shoot for stars
And when we direct our aspirations towards the expansive universe
What a giant step
It is a momentous leap that we take
Have we got what it takes
Do we have the aptitude, the resources, and the wisdom to make this endeavour a success?
To carry the weight of this concept
To bear the responsibility of our aspirations and the consequences that they might bring
Or pass it by like a shot in the dark
Or abandon these goals as mere whims of a fevered imagination
Miss the mark with a sense of adventure
Even if we fail, we would have had the sense of exploration and adventure that drove us forward
Contributed by Colin P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.