Jón Þór Birgisson (Jónsi), Georg Hólm, and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson formed the group in Reykjavík, Iceland in August 1994. They soon won a record deal with a local record label, Smekkleysa (Bad Taste). In 1997, they released Von (Hope) and in 1998, released a remix collection named Von brigði. The name is Icelandic wordplay: Vonbrigði means "disappointment," but Von brigði means "hope alteration." (In English, the album is sometimes known by the alternative name "Recycle Bin.")
International acclaim came with 1999's Ágætis Byrjun ("An alright start"), for which the band were joined by Kjartan Sveinsson. The album's reputation slowly spread by word of mouth over the next two years. Soon, many critics worldwide hailed it as one of the best albums of its time, and the band was playing with Radiohead and other big names. Drummer Ágúst left the band after the recording of Ágætis Byrjun and was replaced by Orri Páll Dýrason.
After the release of Ágætis Byrjun, the band became perhaps most well known for Birgisson's signature style of playing guitar with the bow from a cello, accentuated with reverb, creating a sweeping, fluid sound that is unique for an electric guitar.
In early 2001, Sigur Rós set out to record some songs in their newly-completed álafoss swimming pool studio with their friend Steindór Andersen who is a fisherman and chairman of the Icelandic poetry society, Iðunn. Steindór is a chanter/singer of the traditional Icelandic epic poetry form, called "rímur," for which the band named their next EP, Rímur. Only 1000 copies of the EP were printed and sold in the spring tour of 2001.
In 2002, their highly anticipated follow-up album ( ) was released. Upon release, all tracks on the album were untitled, though the band later published song names on their website. Famously, all of the lyrics on ( ) are sung in vonlenska ("Hopelandic"), nonsensical vocalizations that resemble the sound of the Icelandic language. It has also been said that the listener is supposed to interpret their own meanings of the lyrics, which can then be written in the blank pages in the album booklet.
In October of 2003, Sigur Rós joined Radiohead in composing music for Merce Cunningham's dance piece Split Sides; Sigur Rós’s three tracks were named "Ba Ba," "Ti Ki," and "Di Do" and released in March of 2004 on an EP titled Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do The three songs are separate tracks, but the band intended that all three be played at the same time to form one single song. The band's 1997 debut album Von also finally found a United States and United Kingdom release in October of 2004. Their latest full-length album, Takk... (Thanks...), was released on September 13, 2005, with a free legal download of their first single, "Glósóli," made available on August 15. For North American fans, "Sæglópur" was made available for download on August 16."Hoppípolla," the second official single from Takk..., was released on November 28 alongside a new studio remake of "Hafsól," a song which was previously released on the band's 1997 debut, Von.
Sæglópur EP was released on July 10 in most parts of the world and on August 8 in the United States. Its original release date was May 8, but because of the sudden demand of "Hoppípolla," especially in the UK due to its inclusion on BBC's "Planet Earth," it was pushed back from that date. Sigur Rós recorded three new songs for the EP: "Refur," "Ófriður," and "Kafari."
The Hvarf/Heim double album was released on November 5, 2007. Hvarf contains reworkings of songs dating back to the bands' first album, whereas Heim contains live acoustic versions of more well-known songs. The double album was an accompaniment to the film Heima. Heima is a documentary showing footage of the band's tour of Iceland, including live footage and interviews. The official web site is www.heimafilm.com.
Sigur Rós has sold over 2.5 million albums worldwide.
On June 23, 2008, they released Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.
The single "Gobbledigook" was available for a free download on their website.
In January 2010, the band began a hiatus, and they are now working on new material. On August 11, 2011, the band's website showed a trailer for a project called Inni. A week later, the project was revealed to be a new live album and DVD, although the release date is currently unknown.
Sigur Rós'' sixth studio album, Valtari, was released on May 29, 2012 on Parlophone.
In January 2013, Kjartan Sveinsson left the band and was not replaced. Sigur Rós's first album following his departure was titled Kveikur and released in June 2013.
In 2014, the band made a guest appearance in the HBO show 'Game of Thrones,' performing The Rains of Castamere in the 2nd episode of the 4th season.
Websites
Both websites include discography, band trivia, song lyrics, and news: http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk and http://www.sigurros.com.
Heima
Sigur Rós Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Þúsund orð sem hrista mig á hol
Ekkert þor við verðum sárir enn
Ég verð að komast út
Þúsund orð í árum
Þúsund ár sem segja allt sem er
Enginn sér á bak við orðin tóm
Síðustu tárin að
Síðustu tárin strýk, ég burt
Síðustu ár um ævina
Síðustu árin að
Síðustu árnar enda burt
Sárin saman – já, þau gróa
Þúsund orð í tárum
Þúsund ár um mínar kinnar renna tár
Svöðusár sem við saumum aftur saman
og höldum áfram
Síðustu tárin af
Síðustu tárin strýk nú burt
Síðustu ár um ævina
Síðustu stráin dreg
Síðustu árnar renna burt
Sárin saman þau gróa
Sárin saman þau gróa
Síðustu tárin renna burt
Sárin saman – já, þau gróa
Já, þau gróa
Já, þau gróa
Nú er ég loks kominn heim
The lyrics to Sigur Rós's song Heima are in Icelandic, but they convey deep emotions that are universal. The first two verses talk about thousands of years and thousands of words that have shaken the singer to the core. They talk about the pain that still remains and how the singer must find a way to get out of it. The third and fourth verses talk about the last tears, the last years of a lifetime, how the pain grows and heals over time, and how the tears eventually stop. The fifth and final verse is a hopeful one. The singer says that the wounds heal together, and the pain goes away, even if it takes the last tears to do so. The last line says that the singer has finally come home.
The song is a powerful meditation on the human experience, grief, and healing. It speaks to the idea that we all carry within us the pain of thousands of years but that we can find a way to heal and come home. The song is calming and meditative, and it invites the listener to reflect on their own experiences of grief and healing.
Line by Line Meaning
Þúsund ár í orðum
A thousand years in words
Þúsund orð sem hrista mig á hol
A thousand words that shake me to the core
Ekkert þor við verðum sárir enn
We have no choice, we'll still get hurt
Ég verð að komast út
I have to get out
Þúsund orð í árum
A thousand years in time
Þúsund ár sem segja allt sem er
A thousand years that tell everything
Enginn sér á bak við orðin tóm
No one sees behind the empty words
Býr alltaf eitthvað
There's always something brewing
Síðustu tárin að
The last tears
Síðustu tárin strýk, ég burt
The last tears wiped away, I'm gone
Síðustu ár um ævina
The last years for all eternity
Síðustu árin að
The last years
Síðustu árnar enda burt
The last years come to an end
Sárin saman – já, þau gróa
The wounds together - yes, they heal
Þúsund orð í tárum
A thousand words in tears
Þúsund ár um mínar kinnar renna tár
A thousand years as tears run down my cheeks
Svöðusár sem við saumum aftur saman
Stitching together the sutured wounds
og höldum áfram
And we keep going
Síðustu tárin af
The last tears off
Síðustu tárin strýk nú burt
The last tears now wiped away
Síðustu ár um ævina
The last years for all eternity
Síðustu stráin dreg
The last straw is drawn
Síðustu árnar renna burt
The last years run away
Sárin saman þau gróa
The wounds together, they heal
Já, þau gróa
Yes, they heal
Já, þau gróa
Yes, they heal
Nú er ég loks kominn heim
Now I've finally come home
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GEORG HOLM, JON THOR BIRGISSON, KJARTAN SVEINSSON, ORRI PALL DYRASON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Spiderbite76
0:00 Intro - Smáskifa 3 (Excerpt)
1:30 Takk...
3:10 Glósóli
9:25 Sé Lest
19:10 Ágætis Byrjun
25:58 Heysátan
30:48 Olsen Olsen
39:42 Von
48:10 Gítardjamm
53:30 Vaka
59:40 Dauðalagið
1:09:35 Hoppípolla / Með Blóðnasir
1:16:40 Sigur Rós (Excerpt) / Starálfur
1:22:40 Smáskifa 2 (Live excerpt) / Popplagið
1:39:08 Samskeyti
1:44:19 Credits - Svo Hljótt
Zoran Kalina
Island....must be quite a volume of craving for something in the mood up there.....
In sound....sweet/ bitter.......
Slow...like......time is not an issue at all
But, the distance......feal os solitude.....separate.
Even, conectione can be easely establishe.....
Duratione is ........uncertain.....non conformity
Distance......
Isolatione......
🏖
Spiderbite76
0:00 Intro - Smáskifa 3 (Excerpt)
1:30 Takk...
3:10 Glósóli
9:25 Sé Lest
19:10 Ágætis Byrjun
25:58 Heysátan
30:48 Olsen Olsen
39:42 Von
48:10 Gítardjamm
53:30 Vaka
59:40 Dauðalagið
1:09:35 Hoppípolla / Með Blóðnasir
1:16:40 Sigur Rós (Excerpt) / Starálfur
1:22:40 Smáskifa 2 (Live excerpt) / Popplagið
1:39:08 Samskeyti
1:44:19 Credits - Svo Hljótt
GABRIEL CRAFT 👋🤓
Fun fact: Heima was the first film ever to debut and stream live on YouTube (was also was free).
Shubham Jain
Oh wow!
stoneburner
somehow kept my dvd/photo book of this pristine. one of my favorite hard copies
Magmile™
I actually have a printscreen of Youtube from that day! The whole Youtube home page was dedicated to Sigur Rós! 🖤
Moncho
Muy buena sensación y mezcla entre los paisaje y la musica
Adhi S
I watched Heima for the first time back in 2011. After watching it I was so determined to go to Iceland one day. 3 years later I fulfilled my promise, with Sigur Ros soundtracking my trip of course :') Thank you for this incredible work!
Shubham Jain
I watched it around the same time and fell in love with Iceland! Will get to go there someday hopefully!
Adhi S
@Shubham Jain Hope you will too! It's an incredible place <3
Stéphane Menet
Been dreaming for Iceland for nearly 25 years listening to this band. Well, i fulfilled my dreams last month. The problem is: i really have to go back 😅