Both members worked a lot in other projects in the years before. Conny played the violin for more than ten years and performed in many orchestras. She also sang in some classical choruses and as a soloist, and is familiar with baroque and romantic compositions like G.F. Handel, E. Grieg or Pergolesi.
Olaf was in his childhood a member of the "Stadtsingechor Halle", the oldest chorus of the world. Later, he played in many musical projects and bands, and also composed for TV. He studied musicology and philosophy.
In 1994 the second album, "Porta VIII" (Hyperium), was released. It has a concept based on the fairy tale "Ariadne et Barbe Bleue" by Maurice Maeterlinck, but "Porta VIII" is a continuation of the original fairy tale. This album too was selling more than 10 000 copies worldwide and climbed the Mexican charts.
Since 1997 there was a new line-up. Conny left sToa to follow her classical career, and the new singer was Antje Buchheiser. Buchheiser had been playing violin for more than eleven years, and had been singing in the classical chorus "Hallenser Madrigalisten". She performed a lot in classical music, in, among others, Germany, Japan and Cuba.
Another new member since 1996 was Christiane Fischer. She plays cello and is singing the second voice at live concerts. sToa signed to the German publisher Alster Musikverlag. In 1997 the band left their old label Hyperium for various reasons.
sToa performed sporadically at special places or events. They played for example at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in a one hundred years old and eighty metres high monument in front of more than 1 000 people, at the “Zeche Carl” in Essen, in the Netherlands and several times in Mexico (inter alia with the Goethe-Institut).
In 2001 they finished their album "Zal". It was released worldwide, but first in Mexico at "Samadhi Musik". sToa signed to the German label "Alice in ...", where they released "Zal" for the rest of the world and re-released "Urthona" and "Porta VIII". The singer on "Zal" was Antje Buchheiser.
In 2008 sToa returned with international line-up. The new album "Silmand" was released on September 26th. "Silmand" means soul month. With it the month September is titled in an almost forgotten German dialect. The female voices on the album belong to sToa's new main-singer Mandy Bernhardt and the Australian multi-instrumentalist Louisa John-Krol. Furthermore, the Dutchman Pieter Nooten (Ex-Clan of Xymox) could be engaged as well as the Leipzig-based Ralf Jehnert (Love is Colder than Death). One of the songs on "Silmand" was already used as film score ("Tacitum"). The title of the song "Hanuz Nist" comes from the Persian lyrics written by Hassan Dehlawi at the 14th century.
I Wish You Could Smile
sToa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I still care for you. I cry.
When I think things go my way...
I have what I thought I wanted;
Yet I'm still sad for you.
Once you told me times would change...
But I still care for you.
I wish you could smile.
I wish you could smile.
[Sam Rosenthal]
The lyrics of sToa's song "I Wish You Could Smile" express a bittersweet sentiment of still caring for someone who has hurt you in the past. The opening lines "When I see you...I smile" reveal a conflicting feeling of seeing the person who has caused pain but still having positive emotions associated with them. The next line "I still care for you. I cry" sheds light on the depth of emotion that the singer still has for the person, as they are moved to tears despite the hurt caused.
The following lines highlight the singer's struggle with their own happiness in the face of the other person's pain. "When I think things go my way...I have what I thought I wanted; Yet I'm still sad for you" suggests that the singer may have moved on and found happiness, but still feels empathy for the person who hurt them, causing a complex mix of emotions.
The last stanza "Once you told me times would change, Threw me to the brittle air; But I still care for you" refers to the past hurt caused by the person, and the singer's realization that even though they have been hurt, they still care for this person. The refrain "I wish you could smile" expresses the singer's desire for the person's happiness despite their own hurt.
Overall, "I Wish You Could Smile" is a powerful, emotional song that explores the complexities of human emotion and relationships, revealing that even when hurt, it is possible to still care for someone.
Line by Line Meaning
When I see you... I smile.
Seeing you brings joy to me and makes me smile, even though we may no longer be together.
I still care for you. I cry.
Even though things may have ended between us, my love and concern for you still runs deep and I get emotional thinking about it.
When I think things go my way...
When life seems to be working in my favor and I'm getting what I thought I wanted,
I have what I thought I wanted;
I realize that what I thought would make me happy isn't enough to fill the void left by our separation.
Yet I'm still sad for you.
Despite my own successes or happiness, I can't help but feel sorrowful for you and what we had lost.
Once you told me times would change...
You made the promise that things would improve and our situation would evolve for the better.
Threw me to the brittle air;
But those words ended up being empty promises and left me feeling abandoned and exposed to a harsh and unforgiving reality.
But I still care for you.
Despite everything that's happened, I still retain my love and regard for you.
I wish you could smile.
I wish that you could find happiness and joy, even if that doesn't involve me.
I wish you could smile.
I hope that someday you can be happy, even if it's without me by your side.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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