Since they signed for EMI in 1994, Henrik has told his story about fear, broken hearts and love for all the enthusiastic fans. Early Henrik developed his trademark habit of sticking star shaped glitter under his eyes, an act that supposedly alone spawned the Swedish "panda" indie subculture (many pandas are often refered to as BD-girls/-boys) among the band's young fans, who followed the Berggren star tradition.
Broder Daniel released four official albums.
Saturday Night Engine (1995)
Broder Daniel (1996)
Forever (1998)
Cruel Town (2003)
Between and after that, the band released some collections.
Singles (2000 - a collection of singles released until then)
No Time For Us 1989-2004 (2005 - mostly later singles and different versions and demos of older tracks)
The Demos 1989-1997 (2005 - a vinyl-only demo collection)
Broder Daniel also featured three songs (Underground, Whirlwind and I'll be gone) on the soundtrack of internationally famous Swedish film Show me love (Fucking Åmål in Sweden) by Lukas Moodysson.
Currently Berggren mostly performs acoustic solo tours, and as of january 2007 nothing has been heard from the band in a long time. "Broder Daniels future is always unsure" the singer said in an official message to his fans on the band's homepage 03/16/2006, but emphasized that it had nothing to do with him playing solo.
On the 30th march 2008 guitarist Anders Göthberg sadly commited suicide, and the band held a farewell concert in his honour at the Way Out West festival in their hometown Gothenburg, 8th august 2008.
In November 2019 the band released a live album with the title Live 2003, consisting of a concert from the Cruel Town tour in Stockholm in 2003.
What Clowns Are We
Broder Daniel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What clowns are we
Try to pretend do we
What clowns are we
What a game is love
What a game is love
What a game that brakes hearts
And where do tears go
When they don't show
Where do years go
We waste them so
Who counts the tears
Who sees your fears
Who counts the years
When they disappear
What a fool I must be
What a fool I must be
Who thought she loved me
How could I not see
What a show is it all
What a show is it all
Trying to hide it all
What a show is it all
And who counts the years
That disappear
Who counts the tears
Who knows your fears
Where do years go
We waste them so
Where do tears go
When they don't show
Oh they go to work on the heart
Needles and nails to make it rot
And untie lovers knot
They go to the heart
To make it rot
How can they know
If you don't show
Who can notice
Where your heart is
Who will miss us
When we're all gone
Who'll remember
Who we all were
The lyrics to Broder Daniel's song "What Clowns Are We" reflect on the nature of love, the passage of time, and the masks that people wear to hide their true emotions. The chorus repeats the line "What clowns are we, try to pretend do we," suggesting that people often play a role or put on a front to protect themselves from getting hurt or to maintain the illusion of control. The song acknowledges the folly of such behavior and the ultimately fruitless nature of trying to hide one's emotions from the world.
The second stanza of the song delves deeper into the nature of love, likening it to a game that is destined to break hearts. The line "We're made to play" suggests that people are born with an innate desire to love and be loved, even at the risk of heartbreak. The verses that follow ponder the enigmatic nature of tears and time - where do these elements truly go, and who keeps track of them?
In the final stanza, the song takes a more pessimistic turn, with the singer admitting that they have been foolish in matters of the heart. The line "What a show is it all, trying to hide it all" acknowledges the inherent theatricality and superficiality of human interactions, and the difficulty of truly understanding others. The final lines ("Who will miss us when we're all gone, who'll remember who we all were") drive the point home that ultimately, humans are fleeting and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Line by Line Meaning
What clowns are we
We are foolish and ridiculous
Try to pretend do we
We try to act like everything is okay
What a game is love
Love is a difficult and painful game
What a game that brakes hearts
Love is a game that often leads to heartbreak
We're made to play
As humans, we are made to love and play the game of love
And where do tears go
When we cry, our tears disappear
When they don't show
It's possible to feel incredibly sad inside without showing it on the outside
Where do years go
Time goes by quickly and we don't always use it wisely
We waste them so
We often don't make the most of the time we have
Who counts the tears
No one but ourselves know how much pain we're in
Who sees your fears
We don't always share our fears with others
Who counts the years
Our age only adds up if we count it ourselves
When they disappear
The years will pass us by quickly and we won't even notice
What a fool I must be
I was foolish not to see the truth
Who thought she loved me
I was mistaken in thinking that she truly loved me
What a show is it all
Life can seem like a facade, pretending everything is okay
Trying to hide it all
We try to hide our sadness and pain from those around us
That disappear
Time passes by quickly and we can easily waste it
Who knows your fears
We often keep our fears locked away and don't share them with others
Oh they go to work on the heart
Sadness can eat away at our hearts, leaving us feeling broken
Needles and nails to make it rot
The pain can be so great that it feels like needles and nails are digging into our hearts
And untie lovers knot
Our hearts can break even when we're tied to someone we love
How can they know
No one can understand our pain if we don't share it
If you don't show
We need to open up and share our feelings instead of hiding them away
Who can notice
People won't know how we feel if we don't share it with them
Where your heart is
Our hearts are often hidden away and not easily seen by others
Who will miss us
We may feel alone and unnoticed in this world
When we're all gone
When we die, who will remember us?
Who'll remember
Our legacy may be forgotten as time passes
Who we all were
As time passes, people may forget who we truly were
Contributed by Bentley B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.