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.
Without You
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The rain falls, the grass grows
Without you the seeds root
The flowers bloom, the children play
The stars gleam, the poets dream
The eagles fly without you
The earth turns, the sun burns
Without you the breeze warms
The girl smiles, the cloud moves
Without you the tides change
The boys run, the oceans crash
The crowds roar, the days soar
The babies cry without you
The moon glows, the river flows
But I die without you
The world revives
Colors renew
But I know blue, only blue
Lonely blue, within me blue
Without you
Without you the hand gropes
The ear hears, the pulse beats
Without you, the eyes gaze
The legs walks, the lungs breath
The mind churns
The mind churns
The heart yearns
The heart yearns
The tears dry without you
Life goes on but I'm gone
'Cause I die without you
Without you
Without you
Without you
The song "Without You" by Various Artists is an emotive and heartbreaking composition that is centered around the theme of loss and heartbreak. The lyrics explore the concept of how one's world can continue to function after losing someone who was once an integral part of their life, but life will never be the same again without them. The opening lines "Without you the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows" speak of how life's regular cycles and routines continue, but the singer is not able to find happiness in them anymore. The second verse reinforces this sentiment, using juxtaposition to express the idea that the beauty of the world is now meaningless without the person they have lost.
The chorus "Without you, life goes on, but I'm gone. ‘Cause I die without you" is deeply poignant, as it conveys the idea that although life goes on, the singer cannot find their purpose, and their life loses all meaning without their loved one. The bridge, "The mind churns, the heart yearns” further adds to this sense of emptiness, with the singer unable to forget or move on from their loss. The final lines "Without you, without you, without you" bring the song to a close with a sense of finality, highlighting the fact that the singer will never be able to find happiness without their loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
Without you the ground thaws
The presence of the person referred to as 'you' makes the world come alive; the absence of this person would make the Earth barren and frigid.
The rain falls, the grass grows
Natural phenomena occur regardless of the presence or absence of the person referred to as 'you'; without 'you', life goes on without attachment or preference to the person's existence.
Without you the seeds root
The lack of a specific person in one's life does not prevent natural processes like growth and sustenance from happening.
The flowers bloom, the children play
Nature and the joy of childhood continue to progress and evolve, regardless of the changes in interpersonal relationships.
The stars gleam, the poets dream
Art, creativity, and the vast cosmos are not impacted by the absence of a single person.
The eagles fly without you
The majesty and power of the natural world continues to exist, independent of a single individual's presence or absence.
The earth turns, the sun burns
The orderly rotation of the Earth and celestial functionality will continue without the inclusion or exclusion of a particular individual.
But I die without you
While many aspects of life go on, the absence of the individual leads the artist to feel as if they are experiencing an emotional and/or existential death.
Without you the breeze warms
The natural world does not differentiate between the presence or absence of a single person; weather patterns continue to ebb and flow without regard to individual relationships.
The girl smiles, the cloud moves
Everyday life carries on without specific regard to an individual's presence or absence.
Without you the tides change
Large-scale natural phenomena like oceanic tides continue to occur irrespective of a single person's presence or absence.
The boys run, the oceans crash
Youthful vigor and the vastness of the open sea continue to drive the pulse of life, regardless of interpersonal connections.
The crowds roar, the days soar
The grandeur and excitement of human endeavors continue to push forth relentlessly and with passion, again without regard to specific individuals.
The babies cry without you
Even the most fundamental aspects of human existence, like the cries and wails of infants, continue and persevere, regardless of the presence or absence of others.
The moon glows, the river flows
The mysteries and wonder of the natural world reveal themselves to all, whether or not specific significant others are present.
But I die without you
The absence of the individual is so profound that it contributes to the artist's feeling of a kind of spiritual death.
The world revives
Overall, the universe around us remains dynamic, renewing and adapting to the ongoing and endless rhythm of life.
Colors renew
The world is constantly in the process of refreshing and renewing itself; this is an ongoing and ever-changing process that happens with or without any specific individuals.
But I know blue, only blue
Despite the fullness and diversity of the world around him, the singer's emotional state is limited to just one singular color - blue - as a result of the absence of a significant other.
Lonely blue, within me blue
The artist is filled with a deep and pervasive sense of loneliness that is deeply rooted within him and cannot be so easily dispelled.
Without you the hand gropes
Interpersonal connections can sometimes provide a sense of guidance, and the absence of such connections may leave individuals feeling lost and adrift.
The ear hears, the pulse beats
The basic physiology of human experience remains constant, regardless of personal relationships.
Without you, the eyes gaze
A significant emotional bond with another person can affect how we see and perceive the world around us; in the absence of the other, our vision remains the same, but our emotional response to it changes.
The legs walks, the lungs breath
Basic actions like walking and breathing persist just as they usually would, regardless of the presence or absence of any particular person in our lives.
The mind churns
Our thoughts continue to process and develop, regardless of who or who is not present in our life; our mind churns on and on, indomitable and beyond our conscious control to an extent.
The heart yearns
Still, our emotions remain passionate and intense, with deep longings and desires that persist even when the person we wish to be with is absent from our lives.
The heart yearns
The powerful and often insistent rhythm of the heart, with its joys and heartbreaks, cannot be silenced easily, even in the face of profound personal loss and sorrow.
The tears dry without you
Emotional outpourings that may have felt necessary at some point will eventually subside, but this does not mean that the fundamental feeling of loss and heartache dissipates with time.
Life goes on but I'm gone
Time and the universe march forward relentlessly, but the artist remains mired in feelings of profound absence and loss.
'Cause I die without you
The isolation and absence of the person referred to as 'you' has taken an enormous emotional toll on the singer, leaving him feeling as if a part of him has died alongside this other person.
Without you
The fundamental absence of this person in the singer's life is the central theme that underpins all the complex emotions and observations conveyed in the song's lyrics.
Without you
The final repetition of this phrase underscores the artist's sense of deep absence and inability to fully move on from the loss of this other person.
Contributed by Lucy P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.