The Knife won a Swedish Grammy award for best pop group of the year 2003, but they boycotted the ceremony by sending two representatives of another artist group dressed as gorillas with the number 50 written on their costumes, apparently as a protest against male dominance within the music industry. Their album Deep Cuts was also nominated for a Swedish Grammy as the best record of the year 2003, although that award went to The Cardigans. It was also in 2003 that the The Knife was featured as Artist of the Week at HitQuarters, which helped them gain greater attention in the worldwide music community.
The group became prominent in late 2005 when José González covered "Heartbeats" on his 2003 album, Veneer. The song was used by Sony in a commercial for Bravia television sets, and released as a single in early 2006. The group commented on this in a Dagens Nyheter article, claiming that Sony paid a large sum of money to use the song. In view of the group's left-wing views and non-commercial philosophy, they excused this transaction on the basis that the money was needed to establish their record company.
The Knife's song "We Share Our Mothers' Health" from their album Silent Shout was featured by the iTunes store as a free song of the week in late 2006. This song was also featured in the ABC series Ugly Betty, as well as an episode of CSI: NY.
In February 2005, the Knife performed their first ever live show at London's ICA, appearing with Rex the Dog and playing in front of a video created for the event by artist/film maker Andreas Nilsson. With this one live performance The Knife embarked on a major tour in 2006, and after selling out shows worldwide, a DVD of the tour was announced. The DVD was released in Sweden on November 8, 2006, and is titled Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience.
Silent Shout was named the best album of 2006 by Pitchfork Media.
At the Swedish Grammy awards in January 2007, The Knife won in all six categories they were nominated in: Composer of the Year, Music DVD of the Year, Producer of the Year, Pop Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Again, they did not attend the award ceremony.
In 2009 the duo wrote the opera Tomorrow, In a Year, celebrating 150 years since Darwin's Origin of Species was published.
In April 2013 they released the album Shaking The Habitual.
In 2014 Karin Dreijer revealed in a interview that the Knife were calling it quits for good. "When we finish the tour now in November we will close down, it’s our last tour," they said. "We don’t have any obligations to continue, it should only and always be for fun."
Heartbeats
The Knife Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One night to speed up truth
We had a promise made
Four hands and then away
Both under influence
We had divine sense
To know what to say
Mind is a razor-blade
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
One night of magic rush
The start: a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colors red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
And you, you knew the hand of a devil
And you, kept us awake with wolves' teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Would that be good enough for me, no
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
"Heartbeats" by The Knife is a song about an intense but fleeting romantic relationship. The lyrics describe the first night the two people spent together, which was filled with passion and a sense of the divine. The idea of being under the influence is mentioned, which could refer to alcohol or other substances, but it could also symbolize the intoxicating effect of falling in love. The line "mind is a razor-blade" suggests that there is a danger or risk associated with this relationship, perhaps due to the intensity of their feelings.
The chorus of the song expresses a desire to rely only on oneself rather than calling on the hands of above (presumably meaning God or a Higher Power) for support. This could be interpreted as a sign of self-reliance or a lack of faith in external sources of help. The second verse references the aftermath of that first night, including ten days of perfect tunes (perhaps referring to a period of blissful harmony) and the promise of being in love. However, the chorus repeats the message that the singer cannot rely on others or something larger than themselves.
The final lines of the song suggest that the intense connection the two people felt was fleeting and ultimately unsustainable. The idea of different heartbeats implies that they were fundamentally different people and perhaps incompatible in the long term. Overall, the song captures the excitement, intensity, and eventual uncertainty of a passionate but short-lived love affair.
Line by Line Meaning
One night to be confused
A single evening of uncertainty and confusion
One night to speed up truth
A night where everything was happening so fast, that things which were previously hidden, came to light.
We had a promise made
A commitment to each other was made in the past
Four hands and then away
The act of having held hands and then letting go
Both under influence
Both parties were under the influence of something (could be drugs, alcohol, intense emotions)
We had divine sense
Despite being under the influence, there was a spiritual connection between the two parties
To know what to say
Being able to communicate thoughts and feelings
Mind is a razor-blade
The mind was sharp and cutting like a razor
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
Asking for divine intervention or help from others isn't enough for the artist
One night of magic rush
A magical evening of intense emotions and feelings
The start: a simple touch
A romantic connection started with a simple touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
A cathartic experience where emotions were pushed to the extreme and then released
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colors red and blue
An extended period of time where everything felt perfect and colorful
We were in love
The two parties were in love
And you, you knew the hand of a devil
And you, kept us awake with wolves' teeth
One of the parties knew the touch of evil and kept the other awake with their sharp, animalistic emotional response
Sharing different heartbeats in one night
The two parties were able to share their emotions and feelings with each other, despite coming from different perspectives
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Would that be good enough for me, no
Reiterating the point that asking for divine or external help isn't enough for the artist
To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no
Reiterating the point that asking for divine or external help isn't enough for the singer
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Karin Elizabeth Dreijer Andersson, Olof Bjorn Dreijer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind