In 1993, He started his musical career as the singer in Planet Waves, a group which released only one album, Brutal Awakenings before splitting up due to internal conflicts. He then turned to a solo career, releasing the debut solo album Cottonfish Tales. In 1999, he had an international hit with the single Glorious, which later featured on the album Liebling, which has been used in a number of advertisements including Volvo, Nutella and Vauxhall. Deadly Happy, his third solo album, was released in 2002, and Mr Johnson, Your Room Is On Fire was released in 2005. 2007 he gave out a greatest hits CD called The Collector.
Bio from the poet site written by Unbry, Mysty and Bending:
March 22nd, 1970 - Lund, Southern Sweden: a wonderful baby starts to let the world hear his phenomenal voice: his name is JON ERIK ANDREAS JOHNSON. His mummy is called Marie, his daddy Gigge; they're both jazz musicians. He also has an older brother called Olof who's now a lawyer. Since they were children, the Johnson brothers have travelled throughout the world with their parents, always in a tour: "I've grown up on the stage, surrounded by instruments, scores and dressing-rooms sometimes not decent. [...] I was the group's mascot and to joke or because I liked it, I always ended up with taking a microphone in my hands, often on daddy's knees..." Music becomes a natural yearning for Andreas: as a kid he used to fall asleep listening to his mother singing jazz songs instead of traditional lullabies, believe it or not! In his early teens he moves with his family in a Stockholm suburb: "There was not so much to do, I only had three choices: sport, drugs or music and I chose the last!". He starts joining small bands and making his first experiences; his first band Silver Arrow made its debut in an assembly-hall at school "It was my first gig ever, It ended up with that I and the two guitarists went up and played without drummer. The guitarists were so nervous that they played with their back against the public". But his parents disagree with him having seen many friends quitting their musical career pretty soon. "So you don't want me to be in the music world? I'll prove you wrong!"
Andreas releases his first album with Planet Waves, "Brutal Awakenings", published by EMI only in Scandinavia. The band seems to take inspiration from Bob Dylan, and also the title is the same of a Dylan's album (Andreas will later confess that they didn't actually know anything about that album!). Between 1993 and 1995 love brings him with the band to New York, where he finds his first personal inspirations for his songs; back in Stockholm the band splits up "We didn’t come to agree. It became a total conflict. Also physical confrontations, fights".
Under the American influence Andreas releases, again with EMI and only in Scandinavia, his first solo album, "Cottonfish Tales". And here problems begin, he fight with EMI because they don't give him enough freedom, he takes a period off in Berlin and in this magic city the new album "Liebling" starts to breathe in only 2-3 months.
The album is dedicated to Debbie Starlight, mysterious inspiring muse, dead before her time but somehow still present in his songs' sounds. Italy brings inspiration too: he spends a couple of weeks in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, and, inspired by green Tuscanian hills, he writes 8 songs, 3 included in the album (the last three). As a final gift he gets a new contract with another recording house, WEA. Tales say that when Andreas went to WEA he brought with him three sample songs in DAT format, but the player jammed right at the proof moment; he took a guitar and decided to make a live performance, with an acoustic version of "The Games We Play": the editor was immediately crazy about it and signed the contract the same day! The POET's talent strikes back!
After the album conclusion, comes the single choice: for about two weeks Andreas and his band try to choose a song to be released as a single, but everyone has his own favourite and the choice is not easy; in the end the album opening song is chosen: "Glorious". In Gothenburg, during the first months of 1999, in an old dismissed gas container, Karl-Johan Larsson directs the video of "Glorious"; in interviews Andreas always says that it was "quite frightful: I was 80 metres above the ground and we were even without permissions!". The song is published just before summer, but it doesn't reach immediate success: "This song is too distressing for summertime" the POET says. But during autumn it becomes the biggest success of the season: it reaches the third place in Italian singles chart and also the fourth place in the "difficult" English chart, which is a quite good result for a debut single! Andreas receives two nominees for the Swedish Grammy Awards, as best single and best video for 1999. Critics unanimously recognise that "Glorious" is "the most beautiful song of the last decade". Concerts in Germany, England, Spain and Sweden are always sold out.
..At the end of 1999 the new single, "The Games We Play", is published in Sweden, reaching 7th place in the chart. Unsatisfied with the video shot in Praga, Andreas decides to shoot a new version during the weekend 4-5 march 2000, with the same director of "Glorious", Karl-Johan Larsson, and again in Gothenburg waiting for the new single to be published in the rest of Europe on May 15..
..In Autumn 2000 “People” video was ready and directed by Karl-Johan Larsson too in Kiev/Ukraina. At our advise the best video of our POET..
..After a long European tour from 1999 till Autumn 2000 till the presentation of the best hip hop MTV Europe Award, a long working period gets him ready to conquer the world..
...15/12/01 he is ready to enter in all charts with the new single Shine. A little taste coming from the new album Deadly Happy, third work of the Swedish singer songwriter, that will be released in Europe between March and April...
.. No one will ever stop the POET)
What If
Andreas Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The time to make things last
If we grew young instead of older
If we could redecorate the past
If we could stop this world from falling
With one silver little phrase
Breathe in light and oxygen
Within this empty space
Would you love me, baby?
What if?
What if?
Would it matter to you baby
Would you love me anyway?
What if?
What if?
We have time for a new beginning
The time to rise again
If our love was young and winning
And the movement worth to defend
If we could find a new destination
Well would it make a change?
Would you love me?
Would you love me, baby?
What if?
What if?
Would it make a difference to you
Would you love me anyway?
What if?
What if?
We could find a new solution
A way back to the start
When every kiss was evolution
And we only played by heart
What if?
What if?
What if?
I can still remember baby how you used to sing
We will never fade away
We will never fade away
What if
We will never fade away
What if ...
We will never fade away ...
The lyrics to Andreas Johnson's song "What If" explore the hypothetical scenario of starting all over again and trying to make things last in a relationship. The song suggests that maybe, just maybe, if we had the chance to redo our past and stop the world from falling apart, things could be different. The lyrics ask if love would still exist, if it would still matter to the other person, or if it would make a difference. This song suggests that even if we can't go back in time and change anything, we can still find a new solution and a way back to the beginning with the one we love.
Line by Line Meaning
If we had time to start all over
Imagining if there was a possibility of redoing things from scratch
The time to make things last
Considering if there was enough time to make things work and ensure long-term success
If we grew young instead of older
Pondering on a scenario where instead of growing old, we could reverse time and become young again
If we could redecorate the past
Thinking about a situation where we could change events from the past
If we could stop this world from falling
Considering if there was a way to prevent the world from declining and regressing
With one silver little phrase
Hypothetically, if a small statement could solve everything
Breathe in light and oxygen
Aspirating words of hope and positivity
Within this empty space
In the midst of a void or emptiness
Would you love me?
Asking if love would still be present in these scenarios
Would you love me, baby?
Adding affectionate emphasis to the previous question
We have time for a new beginning
Realizing that there's still time to start anew
The time to rise again
A chance to rebuild and get back up
If our love was young and winning
Wondering what would happen if love was fresh and thriving
And the movement worth to defend
If the journey was worth fighting for
If we could find a new destination
Contemplating on discovering other options or paths to take
Well would it make a change?
Questioning the impact of these changes
Would you love me?
Asking if love would still exist through all these scenarios
Would you love me, baby?
Repeating and emphasizing the previous question
We could find a new solution
Considering possible new solutions to current problems
A way back to the start
Finding a path to return to a simpler, possibly happier time
When every kiss was evolution
Reminiscing on a time where every kiss was thrilling and adventurous
And we only played by heart
Recalling a period where they acted on heart and instinct, not logic or reason
I can still remember baby how you used to sing
Memories from a time there was joy and happier times
We will never fade away
The idea of their love persevering and standing the test of time
What if
The repeated, persistent thought of contingency and other possibilities
Contributed by Stella I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Yoco
I miss this Andreas. This is so beautiful :')
Elly64
I miss you