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
Be
Robyn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As if a good thing ever could make up for all the pain
There'll be no last chance, I promise to never mess it up again
Just a sweet pain of watching your back as you walk
As I'm watching you walk away
And now you're gone, there's like an echo in my head
And I remember every word you said
It's a cruel thing, you'll never know all the ways I tried
It's a hard thing faking a smile when I feel like I'm falling apart inside
And now you're gone, there's like an echo in my head
And I remember every word you said
That you never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
For the first time, there is no mercy in your eyes
And the cold wind?s hitting my face, and you're gone
And you're walking away
And I am helpless sometimes, wishing's just no good
'Cause you don't see me like I wish you would
'Cause you never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
There's a moment to seize every time that we meet
But you always keep passing me by
But you never were and you never will be mine
I saw you at the station
You had your arm around, what's her name
She had on that scarf I gave you
And you got down to tie her laces
You never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
'Cause you never were and you never will be mine
No, you never were and you never will be mine
There's a moment to seize every time that we meet
But you always keep passing me by
No, you never were and you never will be mine
The song "Be" by Robyn is a heartbreaking ballad about unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The first verse sets the tone for the entire song, with the opening line "It's a good thing tears never show in the pouring rain." This line suggests that the singer has been crying, but is hiding her emotions from the world. The next line, "As if a good thing ever could make up for all the pain," is a bitter realization that no amount of good can make up for the heartbreak she's experiencing. The singer promises she will never mess things up again, but it's too late, and she's left to watch the person she loves walk away.
The chorus of the song repeats the painful truth over and over again: "You never were and you never will be mine." The singer knows that the person she loves will never return her feelings, and it's a hard pill to swallow. The second verse continues this theme, with the lyrics "It's a cruel thing, you'll never know all the ways I tried." The singer has tried everything to make the person she loves notice her, but it's all been for nothing.
The bridge of the song is particularly poignant, as the singer sees the person she loves with someone else. "You had your arm around, what's her name. She had on the scarf I gave you, and you got down to tie her laces." It's a heartbreaking moment as the singer realizes that she will never have what she wants, and that the person she loves has moved on.
Overall, "Be" is a powerful song with heartbreaking lyrics that speak to the pain of unrequited love. Robyn's emotional vocal performance serves to underline the raw emotion of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a good thing tears never show in the pouring rain
Crying wouldn't solve my problems, even in the midst of a storm
As if a good thing ever could make up for all the pain
Nothing can make up for the hurt you put me through
There'll be no last chance, I promise to never mess it up again
I won't have another opportunity to fix things with you
Just a sweet pain of watching your back as you walk
The bittersweet experience of seeing you leave me behind
As I'm watching you walk away
The sight of you walking away from me is painful
And now you're gone, there's like an echo in my head
Your absence leaves an indelible mark on my mind
And I remember every word you said
I can recall every painful thing you ever told me
It's a cruel thing, you'll never know all the ways I tried
I tried so hard for you, but you'll never truly understand
It's a hard thing faking a smile when I feel like I'm falling apart inside
Putting on a happy face while I'm crumbling inside is tough
That you never were and you never will be mine
You were never truly mine and will never be
For the first time, there is no mercy in your eyes
I see a coldness in your eyes I've never witnessed before
And the cold wind's hitting my face, and you're gone
The physical sensations of the cold wind mirror the emotional pain of your absence
And you're walking away
You're leaving me behind, and it hurts deeply
And I am helpless sometimes, wishing's just no good
I feel powerless to change anything, and wishing doesn't help
'Cause you don't see me like I wish you would
You don't see me the way I want you to
There's a moment to seize every time that we meet
I want to take advantage of every moment we have together
But you always keep passing me by
But you never give me the chance to do so, always moving on
I saw you at the station
I caught a glimpse of you at the train station
You had your arm around, what's her name
You were holding onto another person, whose name I don't know
She had that scarf I gave you
The person you were with was wearing a scarf I once gave you
And you got down to tie her laces
You took a moment to help her with her shoes
No, you never were and you never will be mine
I need to accept that you were never really mine and never will be
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KLAS FRANS AHLUND, ROBIN MIRIAM CARLSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Aterhallsam
She does everything herself. Song writing, lyric writing, mixing, mastering and so on.
@utuberine
This is not her song.
@Aterhallsam
Ok. Thought it was. Well I think she makes a lot of the songs she's featured in.
@kenalexandremeridi
no it is
@utuberine
Hang on. I could be mistaken here. I could have sworn I was listening to a Cindy Lauper or Madonna song.
Reminds me of the uncanny resemblance Muse has to other hits with most of their songs. Anyone else notice that?
@uhuraenterprise6372
Robyn's a music genious
@DavidKenniston
As companion pieces, I'd say this and "Dancing On My Own" are Robyn's masterpieces.
@TheJuanshouse
indestructible
@joaquinguillerme1956
@Juan silva and with every heartbeat
@MrWaeseL
Good shout. I think the latter has better composition, while this one has more interesting lyrics.