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.
Yesterday Once More
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd listened to the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
Waiting they played I'd sing along
It made me smile
Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
But they're back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so well
Every sha-la-la-la
Every wo-wo-wo
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're starting to sing's
So fine
When they get to the part
Where he's breakin' her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It's yesterday once more
Lookin' back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed
It was songs of love that
I would sing to then
And I'd memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years away
Every sha-la-la-la
Every wo-wo-wo
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're starting to sing's
So fine
All my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry
Just like before
It's yesterday once more
Yesterday once more
Sha-la-la-la
Every wo-wo-wo
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're starting to sing's
So fine
Every sha-la-la-la
Every wo-wo-wo
Still shines
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they're starting to sing's
So fine, so fine, so fine
So fine
The lyrics to "Yesterday Once More" express nostalgia for the past, specifically the music of the past. The singer reflects on their youth, listening to the radio and waiting for their favorite songs to play. The memories of those happy times seem like they were just yesterday, yet so much has changed since then. The person finds comfort in the songs and melodies that they loved so well, which still sound good to them and bring back memories of the past.
The lyrics also express the feeling of sadness, as the good times of the past seem to be better than the present. The songs of love that were sung by the singer in their youth still have the power to move them, evoking emotions that are just as strong as they were in the past. The song ends with the repetition of the refrain, emphasizing that the memories of the past are still just as vivid and powerful as they were then.
Overall, the lyrics of "Yesterday Once More" demonstrate the power of music to evoke strong emotions and memories, especially the nostalgia for the past and the good times that have gone by.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was young
As a child, I would listen to the radio
I'd listened to the radio
I would listen to music on the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
I would wait eagerly for my favorite songs to play on the radio
Waiting they played I'd sing along
When my favorite songs played, I would sing along with them
It made me smile
Listening to music on the radio brought me joy
Those were such happy times
Listening to music on the radio brought me great happiness
And not so long ago
It doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I listened to the radio
How I wondered where they'd gone
I often wondered where my favorite songs had disappeared to
But they're back again
My favorite songs are back again
Just like a long lost friend
It feels like an old, familiar friend has returned
All the songs I loved so well
All of my favorite songs are back and I love them just as much now as I did then
Every sha-la-la-la
Every “sha-la-la-la” in these songs
Every wo-wo-wo
Every “wo-wo-wo” in these songs
Still shines
Still stands out and is memorable
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
Every “shing-a-ling-a-ling” in these songs
That they're starting to sing's
The fact that these songs are being played once again
So fine
Is wonderful and enjoyable
When they get to the part
When the songs get to the part
Where he's breakin' her heart
Where the song is about someone breaking someone else's heart
It can really make me cry
It can evoke strong emotions in me and make me cry
Just like before
Just like it did when I first heard it
It's yesterday once more
It feels like I'm transported back to the past when I hear these songs
Lookin' back on how it was
Reflecting on how things used to be
In years gone by
In the past
And the good times that I had
Remembering the good times I had in the past
Makes today seem rather sad
It makes me feel sad about the present in comparison
So much has changed
Things are so different now
It was songs of love that
The songs that stand out the most to me
I would sing to then
Were the songs I sang along to
And I'd memorize each word
I would memorize the lyrics to these songs
Those old melodies
The melodies of these songs
Still sound so good to me
They still sound great to me even now
As they melt the years away
They make me feel like time has melted away and I'm back in the past
All my best memories
When I listen to these songs, all of my best memories come flooding back
Come back clearly to me
They resurface in my mind and become clear once again
Some can even make me cry
Some of these memories can be so strong they make me cry
Yesterday once more
It feels like I'm reliving the past once again
Sha-la-la-la
These types of sounds in the songs
Every wo-wo-wo
These other types of sounds in the songs
Still shines
Are still memorable and unique
Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
These sounds in the songs
That they're starting to sing's
Are starting to be played once again
So fine
Which is excellent and enjoyable
So fine, so fine, so fine
Indicating just how wonderful to hear these songs once again is.
Writer(s): Richard Lynn Carpenter, John Bettis
Contributed by Grayson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.