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.
Tainted Love
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Run away I've got to
Get away
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The love we share
Seems to go nowhere
And I've lost my light
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love
Now I know I've got to
Run away I've got to
Get away
You don't really want any more from me
To make things right
You need someone to hold you tight
And you think love is to pray
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way
Once I ran to you (I ran)
Now I'll run from you
This tainted love you've given
I give you all a boy could give you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love
Don't touch me please
I cannot stand the way you tease
I love you though you hurt me so
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love (Ohh)
Touch me baby, tainted love
Touch me baby, tainted love
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love (Ohh)
Tainted love
Tainted love
In the first verse of "Tainted Love," the singer expresses the feeling of being trapped in a painful and unfulfilling relationship. The love shared between them only leads to disappointment and doesn't seem to lead anywhere. The pain inflicted by the partner becomes intolerable and causes insomnia. Running away is the only solution to finding peace from the pain.
In the second verse, the singer decides that things cannot be fixed and that the partner's desire for more love from them is not enough. They mention the partner needs someone to hold them tight, but the love being shared is not what they believe in. Love might be a prayer for the partner, but the singer refuses to ask for it that way. They once ran to the partner but now want to run the other way. The tainted love given has caused nothing but disappointment, and they are done with it.
The chorus repeats the phrase "tainted love" as a way of emphasizing the central theme of the song. It highlights the feeling that there is something inherently wrong with the love being shared. In the end, the singer asks the partner not to touch them and admits the love remains even though the hurt is too much. They decide to pack their things and leave due to their need for self-preservation.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I feel I've got to
At times, I experience a need of sorts to
Run away I've got to
Flee, I must
Get away
Escape this situation
From the pain that you drive into the heart of me
The agony that you cause me, penetrates deep into my soul
The love we share
The affection between us
Seems to go nowhere
Feels as if it leads to nowhere
And I've lost my light
Hopelessness has enveloped me
For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night
Anxiety hampers my sleep, as I keep shifting in restlessness
Once I ran to you (I ran)
There was a time when I would run to you for help (I really did)
Now I'll run from you
But now, I will endeavor to escape from you (at any cost)
This tainted love you've given
Your love, which now appears corrupt
I give you all a boy could give you
I have bestowed all that I - a young man - could offer you
Take my tears and that's not nearly all
Even if you take my tears, it won't even come close to the extent of my suffering
Tainted love (Ohh)
This love, which now appears corrupt (Oh!)
Now I know I've got to
I am now certain that I have to
Run away I've got to
Flee, I must
Get away
Escape this situation
You don't really want any more from me
You are not really interested in anything more from me
To make things right
In order to fix our relationship
You need someone to hold you tight
You need someone to embrace you tightly
And you think love is to pray
You consider prayer to be an expression of love
But I'm sorry I don't pray that way
But I am sorry, I can not express my love in that way
Don't touch me please
Please do not touch me
I cannot stand the way you tease
I can not endure the playful way you provoke me
I love you though you hurt me so
Despite the pain you inflict upon me, I do have feelings of love towards you
Now I'm going to pack my things and go
I have decided to pack my belongings and depart
Touch me baby, tainted love
Touch me baby, corrupt love
Tainted love
Corrupt love
Contributed by Juliana W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.