Robyn's parents are actors, and she herself was involved in acting at the age of 9, with an extra role in Kronbruden at the Swedish theatre Dramaten. In 1991, at the age of 12, Robyn recorded the theme song named "Du kan alltid bli nummer ett" ("You can always be number one") for the Swedish television show Lilla Sportspegeln. In the same year she performed this song on television show Söndagsöppet. Robyn was rediscovered by Swedish pop singer Meja in the early 90s. Meja and her band Legacy of Sound visited Robyn's school and were involved with a musical workshop.
Following the completion of her middle school education, Robyn signed to Ricochet Records Sweden, a subsidiary of BMG. She collaborated with producers Max Martin and Denniz Pop. Writing duties were assisted by Ulf Lindstrom and Johan Ekhe, who also helped to produce the album, and they stayed on board with Robyn until 2003.
Robyn started her career in the pop music industry at the age of 16. She signed a record deal with RCA Records in 1994 to release her debut single "You've Got That Somethin'" in Sweden, followed by her breakthrough single "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)". In October 1996 she released her debut album Robyn Is Here. Robyn's US breakthrough came in 1997, when the dance-pop singles "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)" reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her second album My Truth was released in May 1999 in Sweden, with subsequent releases elsewhere in Europe. The single "Electric" was a hit across Europe, and propelled My Truth to second position in Sweden. Despite her success in the US market with her debut album, My Truth did not receive an international release.
In 1999, Robyn contributed to Christian Falk's debut solo album Quel Bordel, appearing on the tracks "Remember" and "Celebration". In 2000, she appeared on the track "Intro/Fristil" on Petter's self-titled album. In 2001, Robyn contributed the song "Say You'll Walk the Distance" to the soundtrack for the film On the Line.
In November 2002, Robyn swapped labels at BMG (from RCA to Jive Records) and released her third album Don't Stop The Music in Sweden. She issued the singles "Keep This Fire Burning" and "Don't Stop The Music" in Scandinavia and mainland Europe. The lead single "Keep This Fire Burning" was covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight.
The decade-long relationship between Robyn and BMG ceased in 2004. When they reacted negatively to "Who's That Girl", which showcased a new electropop sound, Robyn decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she announced she would be leaving Jive Records to start her own record label, Konichiwa Records. In May 2004, Robyn's Best was released in America. It is essentially a condensed version of her debut album, containing no material from her later releases. In 2006, following her departure from BMG, the compilation Det Bästa Med Robyn (The Best of Robyn) was released in Sweden.
Robyn released the single "Be Mine!" in March 2005, followed a month later by her fourth studio album Robyn. This album became her first number one album upon its release in Sweden. Collaborators of this album include names like Klas Åhlund from Teddybears, the Swedish duo The Knife and former Cheiron producer Alexander Kronlund. Sampling influences from electronic, rap and R&B music, Robyn received rave reviews, and gained the singer three Swedish Grammy Awards in 2006 for "Årets Album" (Best Album), "Årets Kompositör" (Best Writer, alongside Klas Åhlund) and "Årets Pop Kvinnlig" (Best Pop Female). Robyn released three more singles from the eponymous album: "Who's That Girl", "Handle Me" and "Crash and Burn Girl".
In 2006 she featured on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey You", taken from their album Crazy Itch Radio. The year also marked the release of Christian Falk's second album People Say, on which Robyn contributed the tracks "Dream On" and "C.C.C.". In December 2006, she released The Rakamonie EP in the UK.
In March 2007, Robyn released the single "Konichiwa Bitches" in the UK, followed by the revised edition of the album Robyn in April 2007. This version contains slightly altered versions of two of the original songs and two new tracks: "With Every Heartbeat" (a collaboration with Kleerup) and "Cobrastyle" (a cover of a 2006 single by Swedish rockers Teddybears). The second single from this revised album was "With Every Heartbeat", issued in late July 2007 and reaching number one on the UK singles chart. Follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who's That Girl" and "Dream On" were top thirty hits. Also in 2007, Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet's single "This One's For You", from their album Voices of Eden.
The Rakamonie EP was released in January 2008 in the US under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and the US edition of her self-titled album was released in April 2008. "With Every Heartbeat (with Kleerup)", "Handle Me" and "Cobrastyle" were top ten club hits, and the former received airplay at US pop and dance radio stations. She was also featured on "Sexual Eruption (Fyre Department remix)" by Snoop Dogg.
Robyn completed a short US tour to promote the album Robyn, and was the supporting act for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour at select European dates in 2008. In January 2009, Robyn won a Swedish Grammis Award for Best Live Act 2008. In 2009 she featured on the single "The Girl and the Robot" from the album Junior by Norwegian electronic band Röyksopp.
In 2010 Robyn announced she planned to release three albums in the same year. To promote the first part, she released the songs "Fembot", "Dancehall Queen" (produced by Diplo) and "None of Dem" (featuring Röyksopp) to digital outlets as promotional singles on 13 April 2010. Klas Åhlund was the main producer of all Body Talk albums.
Robyn released Body Talk Pt. 1, on 14 June 2010 in the Nordic countries through EMI and on 15 June 2010 in the US through Interscope. This mini-album was preceded on 1 June 2010 by the lead single "Dancing On My Own". The song became Robyn's first number one hit in Sweden, and her fourth top ten hit in both the UK and the US, peaking at #8 on the UK Singles Chart and at #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Later The Guardian and Slant Magazine rated "Dancing On My Own" as the best song of 2010, and Pitchfork Media ranked it 4th in their Top 100 Tracks of 2010. On 30 August 2010, Robyn performed at Polar Music Prize 2010 a cover of "Hyperballad", with Björk being in the audience.
On 6 September 2010, Body Talk Pt. 2 was released in the UK. It was preceded on 5 September 2010 by the single "Hang With Me", a dance version of an acoustic song from Body Talk Pt. 1. This album also contains a duet with Snoop Dogg on "You Should Know Better (feat. Snoop Dogg)". On 12 September 2010 Robyn performed a remixed version of "Dancing On My Own" with deadmau5 at MTV Video Music Awards 2010.
Robyn released on 22 November 2010 (US and Scandinavia) the third and final part of the Body Talk series, entitled Body Talk. The album includes five songs from each previous Body Talk parts, along with five new songs. The new tracks have been made available separately as Body Talk Pt. 3 in the United States and Germany. The album was promoted mainly by the release of the single "Indestructible" on 1 November 2010. Body Talk received extremely favorable reviews from most music critics and featured on many year-end lists.
On 1st April 2011, Robyn issued the single "Call Your Girlfriend".
Official site: http://www.robyn.com
88 Days
Robyn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To signify that your still on my mind
Darkness arrived without a warning
It brought me down
But I know the world just keeps on turning
I wish that I could turn you on
Like a switch in my kitchen
88 days seems so long
I believe in you and me
But it's so hard to trust
Something you just can't see, still I've got
CHORUS
88 days 'til the sun
And while you're gone
I've got so much work inside my heart to be done, I've got
88 days 'til the sun
I`ve got to get my spirit ready
For when the springtime comes
88 days 'til the sun
Zip up my thickest jacket
I miss the green and the light you gave to me
Prepare to get my feet wet
Halogen's on bright when 2 pm is like 2 in the night, it ain't right
So what's the message in this song
That the pain doesn't mean that you can't carry on
Still 88 days seem so long
A meditation, a revelation
But it's so hard to trust
Something you just can't see, still I've got
Chorus (x1)
88 days 'til the sun comes around
(You got work, you got work, you got work to be done)
88 days 'til the sun comes around
(You got work, you got work, you got work to be done)
A meditation, a revelation
But it's so hard to trust
Something you just can't see, I've got
I've got 88 days, 88 days,
(You got work, you got work, you got work to be done)
I've got work, I've got work, I've got work to be done
(88 days 'til the sun)
88 days
Got to get my spirit ready for the springtime
Still I've got
(88 days 'til the sun)
(You got work, you got work, you got work to be done)
88 days 'til the springtime
The song "88 Days" by Robyn touches upon the theme of longing and anticipation. The opening lines speak of lighting a candle in the morning as a reminder of someone who is missed. The sudden darkness in the singer's life is symbolic of the absence of the person they are longing for. However, they find solace in the fact that the world keeps on turning even in their absence. The singer wishes they could turn the person they are waiting for "on like a switch in [their] kitchen," emphasizing their desire for their presence once again. The line "88 days seems so long" indicates that the singer is counting down the days until the sun returns, signifying a metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel. The chorus repeats this sentiment, indicating that the person left behind has work to do within themselves to prepare for the time when they are reunited once again.
The second verse has the singer preparing for the long wait ahead, zipping up their thickest jacket and literally bracing themselves against the coming winter. The missing person is metaphorically referred to as the green and light, which they miss desperately. However, the singer finds a message of hope in the pain they are experiencing, indicating that they will continue to carry on despite the difficult waiting period. The song ends on a hopeful note with the repetition of "I've got work, I've got work, I've got work to be done," indicating that the singer is preparing themselves for the challenges ahead and doing what they can to sustain themselves until the return of the person they are missing.
Line by Line Meaning
I light a candle in the morning
Every morning, I light a candle to signify that you are still on my mind.
To signify that you're still on my mind
The candle I light every morning represents that I am still thinking about you.
Darkness arrived without a warning
Suddenly, darkness took over and it brought me down.
It brought me down
The darkness affected me negatively and made me feel down.
But I know the world just keeps on turning
Despite everything that is happening, I am aware that the world keeps moving forward.
I wish that I could turn you on
I wish I had the power to bring you to life and have you by my side again.
Like a switch in my kitchen
Similar to the way I can turn on the lights in my kitchen, I wish I could turn you on and bring you back to me.
Right before dawn
I wish I could have you with me as the new day begins.
88 days seems so long
The amount of time since we’ve been apart feels like an eternity.
I believe in you and me
I still believe that we have a future together, despite the distance between us.
But it's so hard to trust
It's difficult to have faith in something you can’t see and to believe that it will happen.
Something you just can't see, still I've got
Even if I can't see what the future holds, I know that I still have the hope for us.
(Chorus)
Repeated refrain.
Zip up my thickest jacket
As I prepare to step out into the cold, I put on my warmest jacket to keep me protected from the chill.
I miss the green and the light you gave to me
I feel the absence of the light and energy that you brought to my life.
Prepare to get my feet wet
I am getting ready to take the necessary steps, even if it means dealing with discomfort or difficulties.
Halogen's on bright when 2 pm is like 2 in the night, it ain't right
Despite it being two in the afternoon, because of the darkness, it feels like it's two in the middle of the night. It's not normal or natural.
So what's the message in this song
What is the lesson or meaning that can be found within the lyrics of this song?
That the pain doesn't mean that you can't carry on
Although I am experiencing pain and heartache, it doesn't mean that I can't move forward with my life.
A meditation, a revelation
This song serves as both a meditation and a revelation for me.
I've got 88 days, 88 days
I still have 88 days until I can see you again.
I've got work, I've got work, I've got work to be done
I have a lot to do within myself during these 88 days to prepare myself for our reunion.
Got to get my spirit ready for the springtime
I need to focus on my emotional and mental well-being, so that I am prepared when the time comes for us to be together again.
(Outro)
Closing remarks.
Contributed by Julia D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Montrey
This song is so soothing. I love Robyn!
Joel Kullberg
The voice, the lyrics, the instruments in this album really is something else. I really do BOW a 100%.
Montrey
@Uninserious Mine too. I've got her first three albums and they all are so unique.
soulsurvivor2001
I have 'em all. #Robyn4Life