In 2001, Rikard Sjöblom and David Zackrisson founded Beardfish together with Petter Diamant on drums and Gabriel Olsson on bass. Drummer Petter Diamant subsequently left the band, and was replaced by Magnus Östgren in 2002; flautist and keyboardist Stefan Aronsson also joined.
Robert Hansen replaced Gabriel on bass, and Beardfish recorded their debut album Från en plats du ej kan se in Stefan's studio in 2003. Stefan left the band shortly thereafter. Despite "Från en plats..." being released and passing by quite unnoticed, Beardfish continued to tour as a four-piece band, with Rikard replacing Stefan's role as keyboardist. The end of 2003 was a very productive period for the band, and saw several demos being recorded.
The year of 2004 was largely uneventful for Beardfish, although they did start recording a second album. After that, however, it took the band nearly a year to begin recording once again.
Come 2005, the band was to be found secluded in a cottage outside the town of Gävle, Sweden preparing to record the rest of the material for their upcoming album.
Björn Arnell, a friend of the band, lent them recording equipment, an arsenal of keyboards and effect pedals, and helped them set things up in an old and stately dining room near town.
The band has described this period as a truly beautiful process, and many songs were recorded, most of them live. So many, in fact, that Beardfish had to release a double album. The Sane Day, their 2 CD album, was released in December 2005.
Almost immediately the band started to rehearse new material, and throughout June and July of 2006 they recorded what became Sleeping in Traffic: Part One. The album was practically finished by the end of the summer, and Beardfish was also asked to play the ProgDay festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After this trip, during which they met Gary Green of Gentle Giant, they recorded one more song, called Roulette, and declared the album finished.
A few labels contacted the band, among them InsideOut Music, who wanted to release the new album. Beardfish signed to InsideOut at the end of the year.
New material continued to be written and recorded, and "Sleeping in Traffic: Part One" was released to many positive reviews. Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two was released in 2008.
In 2009, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater invited Beardfish to tour with them on the Progressive Nation tour, which they readily accepted. Rikard Sjöblom said of this, "When we read on a website that Mike Portnoy had our album "Sleeping in Traffic: Part One" among his favorite releases of 2007, we just couldn't believe it and we were really happy about it! And now we once again gasp for air since we've been asked to join Progressive Nation 2009 together with Dream Theater (one of the biggest bands in this genre today!), Pain of Salvation (hey, fellow Swedes!!!) and Zappa Plays Zappa (being a HUGE Zappa fan myself, I think this is really cool!). Since we've only played the US once before we simply can't wait to come over and rock out!"
Unfortunately, due to the bankruptcy of SPV and Beardfish's label InsideOut, both Beardfish and Pain of Salvation had to drop out of the Progressive Nation tour for 2009.
Beardfish's fifth release Destined Solitaire is available July 28, 2009 through InsideOut Records.
Their Myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/beardfishband
Sleeping In Traffic
Beardfish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A room not hot or cold
Afraid to fall asleep again
My other side will unfold
I am on the edge of sanity
Far out in a hazy, troubled dream
A crimson red thought
Someone is struggling
With the battles I've fought
Sleeping in the traffic
Red lights turn to green
Blinding painted white lines
Moving in between
I am on the edge of sanity
Far out in a hazy, troubled dream
Time and time over
It's always the same
Reckon you know me
Are you playing my game?
Me is my own worst enemy…
Me is my own worst enemy…
The opening lines of Beardfish's song "Sleeping in Traffic" describe a common phenomenon- waking up in the middle of the night with a sense of panic, only to find that there is nothing truly wrong in your surroundings that could have triggered such an overwhelming reaction. However, the singer isn't just dealing with irrational fears- they also seem to be afraid of the person they become when they fall asleep. As the lines progress, it becomes clear that the singer is struggling with their own mental illness, describing themselves as being "on the edge of sanity" and lost in a "hazy, troubled dream". The next few lines of the song are ambiguous, but it's clear that there is some sort of inner turmoil taking place in the singer's mind. They describe "scoring" a thought that is "crimson red"- suggesting that it is powerful and potentially dangerous- and fearing that someone else is struggling with the same battles that they are.
The chorus of the song, "Sleeping in the traffic/Red lights turn to green/Blinding painted white lines/Moving in between" seems to reference the chaos of city driving- which can be a metaphor for the chaos and confusion the singer is feeling as they try to navigate their own mind. They feel stuck in a cycle of routine ("Time and time over/It's always the same") and are unsure if they can trust anyone else ("Reckon you know me/Are you playing my game?"). The closing lines of the song, "Me is my own worst enemy", succinctly sum up the singer's inner conflict. They know that they are the only person who can truly help themselves- but they also recognize that they are often the source of their own problems.
Line by Line Meaning
Waking up in panic
Feeling anxious at the start of the day
A room not hot or cold
A place of neutrality that doesn't evoke any strong emotions
Afraid to fall asleep again
Fearful of having a recurring nightmare once asleep
My other side will unfold
Hidden parts of my personality will emerge in my dream
I am on the edge of sanity
I'm about to lose my grip on reality
Far out in a hazy, troubled dream
Lost in a confusing and distressful dream world
I've scored the morning
I've marked the beginning of a new day
A crimson red thought
A violent idea that haunts me at dawn
Someone is struggling
It feels like someone is facing the same difficulties as me
With the battles I've fought
Facing similar challenges I have overcome
Sleeping in the traffic
Stuck in the same routine
Red lights turn to green
Life moves forward and progresses
Blinding painted white lines
Rules that make me feel constricted and lost
Moving in between
Navigating between the lines every day
Time and time over
Repeating the same routine over and over again
It's always the same
Nothing ever seems to change
Reckon you know me
You think you understand me
Are you playing my game?
Are you intentionally trying to provoke or manipulate me?
Me is my own worst enemy…
I am the one causing my problems and holding myself back
Contributed by Jacob E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
gelu batir
Beardfish – Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two1 As The Sun Sets 1:13
2 Into The Night 8:52
3 The Hunter 5:57
4 South Of The Border 7:43
5 Cashflow 6:08
6 The Downward Spiral/Chimay 7:10
7 Sleeping In Traffic 35:44
8 Sunrise Again 1:37
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Accordion, Lyrics By, Mixed By – Rikard SjöblomBass – Robert Hansen*Guitar – David Zackrisson
Drums – Magnus Östgren
drphilphil1
this is not a song this is an experience. Breathtaking
Ash Drums
The reason this band is so great is because they're pure emotion. The reason they're little known though is because of the genre unfortunately
W B
@Daniel Regan My older brother has down syndrome and this is one of the songs he plays the most
TheXenProject
Its because progressive rock isnt commercially viable. Need like 12 minutes of commercials after this!
Garri
Long live prog rock. It's a pity that such music is not popular now. Very sorry. Well done guys. Very beautiful, very!
progis life
real prog sound lives on ! I'm happy I've discovered this great band.
wurstgitarre
Incredible piece of music. I've been loving that song (and the whole album) since it came out in 2008. It's so full of marvellous ideas and masterfully composed! Just listen to that guitar solo at 14:05 oh my God, it's so beautiful and full of feeling, it's so fucking awesome! 🤘❤
George Hunter
Masterpiece! Listen to this over and over again all the time.
phydeauxddog
Look up Wobbler
Patrick McNamara
This is the greatest song ever, according to me at least. :). I have no other songs in my collection of a few hundred thousand that can make me laugh and cry in one song. This is magic.