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.
The Call
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Phone rings girl picks up
Girl: "Hello?"
Aj: (lot's of people talking in background)"Hi it's me what's up baby? I'm
Sorry listen I'm gonna be late tonight so don't stay up and wait for me ok? "
Girl: "Where are you?"
Girl: "Hello?"
Aj: "You're coming in and out I think my battery must be low. Listen if you
Can hear me we're going to a place nearby, alright? Gotta go" (click)
Let me tell you the story about the call that changed my destiny
Me and my boys went out, just to end up in mysery
I was about to go home and there she was standing in front of me
I Said hi, I got a little place nearby
Wanna go, I should have said no
Someone's waiting for me
But I'm gonna go up and see
Listen Baby I'm sorry
Just wanna tell you don't worry
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
So you know we're going to a place nearby
Gotta go
Now till it's done nothing's been won
I can't take it back what's done is done
One of her friends found out
That she wasn't the only one
And it eats me from inside, that she's not by my side
Just because I made that call and lied
Listen Baby I'm sorry
Just wanna tell you don't worry
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
So you know we're going to a place nearby
I gotta go
Break (with repetitive "Baby baby I'm sorry, and "Hello?")
Let me tell you the story about the call that changed my destiny
Me and my boys went out, just to end up in mysery
I was about to go home and there she was standing in front of me
I Said hi, I got a little place nearby
Gotta go
Listen Baby I'm sorry
Just wanna tell you don't worry
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
So you know we're going to a place nearby
Gotta go
Listen Baby I'm sorry
Just wanna tell you don't worry
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
So you know we're goin to a place nearby
We're going to a place nearby
Gotta go
(sound of phone hanging up.)
The lyrics in “The Call” by Various Artists tell a story about a man named AJ who receives a call from a woman, presumably his girlfriend or wife. He is surrounded by other people, making the call difficult to hear. He apologizes for being late and assures her he will not be home soon but is cut off every once in a while. AJ then goes out with his friends, and he meets a woman he is attracted to. He invites her over, but he realizes that he has made a mistake and lied about his whereabouts. Later, he discovers that his girlfriend found out about his infidelity and left him, causing him immense regret.
The song explores the themes of deceit, regret, and betrayal. It tells the story of a young man who gave in to temptation and cheated on his significant other, only to regret it later. The lyrics are raw, emotional, and powerful, as they illustrate the consequences of one’s actions. The line “Now till it's done nothing's been won, I can't take it back what's done is done” highlights the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions and the consequences that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Phone rings girl picks up
A girl answers the phone
"Hello?"
The girl greets the caller
"Hi it's me what's up baby? I'm Sorry listen I'm gonna be late tonight so don't stay up and wait for me ok? "
The caller apologizes for being late and tells the girl not to wait up for him
"Where are you?"
The girl asks the caller where he is
"Wait wait say that again?"
The caller asks the girl to repeat herself
"You're coming in and out I think my battery must be low. Listen if you Can hear me we're going to a place nearby, alright? Gotta go" (click)
The caller's phone connection is poor but he informs the girl that they are going to a nearby location and then hangs up
Let me tell you the story about the call that changed my destiny
The singer sets the stage for the story to come
Me and my boys went out, just to end up in mysery
The singer and his friends went out and something bad happened
I was about to go home and there she was standing in front of me
The singer was about to leave when he saw a woman he was interested in
I Said hi, I got a little place nearby
The singer greets the woman and tells her he has a nearby location
Wanna go, I should have said no
The singer regrets inviting the woman to the nearby location
Someone's waiting for me
The singer has someone waiting for him
But I'm gonna go up and see
The singer decides to go to the nearby location with the woman anyway
Now till it's done nothing's been won
The singer reflects on the fact that nothing has been gained from this situation
I can't take it back what's done is done
The singer can't undo what he has done
One of her friends found out
One of the woman's friends discovered what happened
That she wasn't the only one
The woman wasn't the only person the singer was involved with
And it eats me from inside, that she's not by my side
The singer is upset that the woman is not with him because of his actions
Just because I made that call and lied
The singer feels guilty because he lied on the phone to the person he was supposed to meet
Break (with repetitive "Baby baby I'm sorry, and "Hello?")
Brief pause in the song with the repetition of apologies and greetings
"We're going to a place nearby
The caller tells the girl where they are going
Listen Baby I'm sorry
The caller apologizes again to the girl
Just wanna tell you don't worry
The caller reassures the girl
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
The caller reminds the girl that he will be late
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
The caller explains that his phone battery is low
So you know we're going to a place nearby
The caller reiterates that they are going to a nearby location
Gotta go
The caller ends the call abruptly
Let me tell you the story about the call that changed my destiny
The singer repeats the opening line to remind the listener of the story
Me and my boys went out, just to end up in mysery
The singer repeats this line to emphasize the negative outcome of going out
I was about to go home and there she was standing in front of me
The singer repeats this line to remind the listener of how he met the woman
I Said hi, I got a little place nearby
The singer repeats this line to remind the listener of how he invited the woman to the nearby location
We're goin to a place nearby
The singer repeats this line to emphasize that they are going to a nearby location
Listen Baby I'm sorry
The singer repeats the apology
Just wanna tell you don't worry
The singer repeats the reassurance
I will be late don't stay up and wait for me
The singer repeats the reminder
I'll say again you're dropping out my battery it's low
The singer repeats the explanation
So you know we're goin to a place nearby
The singer repeats the location information
We're going to a place nearby
The singer emphasizes the location one final time
Gotta go
The singer ends the song with the same words used to end the phone call
(sound of phone hanging up.)
The sound of the phone call ending is heard
Contributed by Layla M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.