In 1991, the year she released her first album Memories of a Colour, Nordenstam played at the Swedish parliament as part of the Year of Jazz. Her early work, including her second album, And She Closed Her Eyes, released in 1994, was significantly jazz-influenced, with only subtle elements of alternative rock. With 1997's Dynamite she started down a darker, more experimental path; most of the album was filled with processed, distorted electric guitars and unusual beats, but careful listening revealed her unique song-writing abilities.
An album of covers, People Are Strange, followed before she returned in 2001 with This Is Stina Nordenstam, an album with shorter songs and a more pop-like feel; ex-Suede vocalist Brett Anderson featured on two tracks. In 2003 Nordenstam appeared in a duet with Jonas Bjerre from Mew on Mew's third album Frengers, with a song called "Her Voice Is beyond Her Years". Between 2003 and 2004 she made the Swedish radio-theatre series called The Fears of the Ice, about one of the first polar expeditions.
Her 2004 album, The World Is Saved, continues the path set on This Is..., but presents a more realised sound and acknowledges her earlier jazz influences more.
In addition to being a musician, Nordenstam also works in other fields, such as photography and music-video directing.
Slightly reclusive, she gives very few interviews, rarely performs live and even alters her appearance using wigs and make-up for album covers and magazines. During the promotion for The World Is Saved, however, she gave more interviews than usual, and even talked about the possibility of future live performances.
In 2006, Nordenstam appeared on Snow Borne Sorrow, an album by the band Nine Horses, singing duets with the band's vocalist, David Sylvian.
The Morning Belongs To The Night
Stina Nordenstam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until it comes with a light
Until it's born with a spark
Until it outgrows the dark
And there it hangs for a moment
A breath of hope for a moment
Stands on its own for a moment
The morning belongs to the day
Already here with the grey
Already spilling with need
Already flooding with speed
With its voices and faces, neverending
With its hard spoken phrases, Neverending
But its promise of outlasting light
Is just converted black in the sky
Is just converted black in the sky
With its falling and waking, neverending
With its holding and breaking, Neverending
Soft the darkness reflecting your eyes
But the black is just converted light
The lyrics to Stina Nordenstam's "Morning Belongs to the Night" explore the transition from darkness to light, and the different meanings and emotions associated with each phase of the day. The song begins with the assertion that the morning belongs to the night, essentially suggesting that this new period of time is an extension of the darkness that came before it. However, as the light comes and gradually overtakes the dark, there is a moment in which hope and possibility seem to hang suspended.
The lyrics describe this moment as "free from the past," suggesting that it is a temporary reprieve from the weight of history and the inevitable progression of time. The song then moves on to depict the coming of day, and the way in which it quickly asserts its dominance over the night. The morning is described as a tumultuous and never-ending time, already "spilling with need" and "flooding with speed."
Line by Line Meaning
The morning belongs to the night
The early hours of the day belong to the darkness of the night
Until it comes with a light
The darkness lasts till the arrival of light
Until it's born with a spark
The light is born gradually with a spark
Until it outgrows the dark
The light grows brighter and eventually fades the darkness
And there it hangs for a moment
The light momentarily lingers in the sky
A breath of hope for a moment
The light brings a moment of hopefulness
Stands on its own for a moment
The light stands alone and independently for a moment
Free from the past for a moment
The light is free from the darkness of the past for a moment
The morning belongs to the day
The daylight belongs to the daytime
Already here with the grey
The day starts to emerge with the grey of dawn
Already spilling with need
The day is already overflowing with urgency
Already flooding with speed
The day is already moving fast-paced
With its voices and faces, neverending
The day is full of endless voices and faces
With its hard-spoken phrases, neverending
The day is full of harshly spoken phrases, never-ending
But its promise of outlasting light
The day promises to have lasting illumination
Is just converted black in the sky
It is just the transformation of the dark sky into lighter shades
With its falling and waking, neverending
The day continues with its falling asleep and waking up cycle, never-ending
With its holding and breaking, Neverending
The day is constantly holding and breaking things, never-ending
Soft the darkness reflecting your eyes
The darkness is gentle and reflects in your eyes
But the black is just converted light
The darkness is merely converted light
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: STINA NORDENSTAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind