The five-piece met as teenagers in Jönköping, Sweden, a town whose only distinguishing feature is its 52 churches. In October 1992, bonded by their mutual love of hard rock and folk music (they listed Nick Drake and Iron Maiden as their two biggest influences by 1994), guitarist Peter Svensson and bassist Magnus Sveningsson conceived The Cardigans. As their hometown was hardly a Mecca of musical enterprise, the group packed up and moved to the somewhat more central fishing port of Malmö, Sweden's third largest city, to seek their fortune. With Peter writing most of the music and the band as a whole composing the lyrics, the quintet set out to find a deal.
After an early recording of "Rise & Shine" appeared on a local independent label in 1994, The Cardigans were swiftly signed to Stockholm Records. The same year the band made their debut for the label with Emmerdale and later won the accolade of "Best Album of 1994" from Slitz, at the time Sweden's leading music magazine. The rise of The Cardigans has since been gradual, allowing them the time to develop naturally as their sales and positive exposure grew with each release. Their second long-player, Life, which followed in 1995, featured the hit singles "Carnival" and the re-recorded "Rise & Shine", and witnessed the band's first international chart success. Prior to the First Band on the Moon album in September 1996, The Cardigans released "Lovefool". Although the first response to the single was very positive and landed them in the Top 40, it achieved nowhere near the impact that awaited it the following Spring.
It was in 1997 that The Cardigans were first catapulted towards international superstardom. "Lovefool"'s inclusion on the blockbuster Romeo and Juliet film soundtrack that Spring pushed them past the boiling point. The single not only reached No. 1 on both the United Kingdom and United States airplay charts but also debuted at No. 2 on the United Kingdom national chart, where it remained top five for five weeks. All in all, the album reached more than 2.5 million sales worldwide, achieving Platinum status in the United States and Japan, but only achieving Gold in the United Kingdom. The promotional activities supporting the worldwide success of "Lovefool" and First Band On The Moon were never ending. The band not only performed a year long world tour complete with endless radio sessions and press and television interviews, but even ended up making guest appearances on Beverly Hills 90210 and the David Letterman Show.
It was because of the sheer exhaustion resulting from such a schedule, that The Cardigans since took some well deserved time off at home in Malmö to recuperate their artistic juices and write new material. During their time off, however, the band was by no means dormant. In the beginning of 1999 they contributed a new track, "War", to the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, a live recording of "Been It" to the Lilith Fair compilation and "Deuce", featured on The X-Files: The Album, an X-Files soundtrack album. Their break also included experimentation with various solo projects.
In June 1998, the group, who are very loyal to their roots, once again joined long-time producer Tore Johansson at his studio, Country Hell, located beside the picturesque Svaneholm Castle in Malmö and recorded the album, Gran Turismo.
The first single "My Favourite Game", was a major hit in many territories. The video for "My Favourite Game" was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. The song was also included in the soundtrack of the hit Playstation racing game, Gran Turismo 2, were it was the intro theme. The second single "Erase/Rewind" was released in January 1999, and this single also turned out to be a major hit around the world.
Gran Turismo reached more than 2.5 million sales worldwide.
The album Long Gone Before Daylight was released in February 2003 and from the album the singles "For What It's Worth" and "You're The Storm" were taken. The album received great reviews and the band spent most of 2003 touring Europe and North America.
In Fall 2005, the band released, Super Extra Gravity.
Official site: http://www.cardigans.com
If There Is A Chance
The Cardigans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But something's wrong, something's gone.
The majors turning blue,
And so did you, so did you.
I'm noticing the dirt, and it hurts that you left.
You really had to go, so you say, so you say.
There's nobody left here, but I.
If there is a chance, just one in this world.
That we'll ever dance, again as it turns
If there is a chance, if there is a way,
There's one record left that you haven't heard.
The neighbors had to move, go away, go a way.
I can't afford to leave, so I'll stay, I'll have to stay
The birds know its best to fly,
And don't stick around and cry.
If there is a chance, just one in this world.
That we'll ever dance, again as it turns.
If there is a chance, if there is a way,
There's one record left, that you haven't heard,
Then I'll keep it spinning
The lyrics to The Cardigans' song "If There Is A Chance" are about a person who is left behind after someone they cared for has left. The music is playing, and things seem to be normal, but the person feels that something is wrong. They notice the dirt and the emptiness that has been left behind, and they feel hurt that the other person has gone. The singer is left alone, and it seems like everyone else has moved on, leaving them behind and unable to move on themselves.
The song is about hope, though. The singer is holding onto the idea that there might be a chance for them to be reunited with the person they cared about. They long for the chance to dance with them again, to be with them once more. They hold onto a single record, the last bit of the person they have left, and they vow to keep it spinning, waiting for the possibility of a reunion.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet meditation on loss and hope. The singer has been left behind, but they hold onto the idea that there might be a chance for them to be reunited with the person they care about. While they feel the pain of absence keenly, they continue to hold out hope for the future.
Line by Line Meaning
The music's playing on
The background music is still playing
But something's wrong, something's gone.
Something seems out of place, like a piece is missing
The majors turning blue,
The music label seems worried or anxious
And so did you, so did you.
You also seem concerned and uneasy
I'm noticing the dirt, and it hurts that you left.
I'm finally seeing the flaws now that you're gone, and it's painful
You really had to go, so you say, so you say.
You keep affirming that leaving was necessary, but I'm not entirely convinced
Birds leave their nests and they fly
Birds know when to leave and move on
There's nobody left here, but I.
After you left, I'm left alone here
If there is a chance, just one in this world.
If there's even a slight possibility
That we'll ever dance, again as it turns
That we'll get to dance together once more
If there is a chance, if there is a way,
If there's any opportunity
There's one record left that you haven't heard.
There's one last thing that I want to share with you
The neighbors had to move, go away, go a way.
The other people around have also left recently
I can't afford to leave, so I'll stay, I'll have to stay
I don't have the means to go, so I'll remain here
The birds know its best to fly,
The birds are wise and know when it's time to go
And don't stick around and cry.
They don't dwell and grieve the past
If there is a chance, just one in this world.
If there's even a slight possibility
That we'll ever dance, again as it turns.
That we'll get to dance together once more
If there is a chance, if there is a way,
If there's any opportunity
There's one record left, that you haven't heard,
The last thing I want to share with you is this record
Then I'll keep it spinning
I'll keep the record playing for you, hoping it brings us back together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NINA PERSSON, PETER ANDERS SVENSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Iain Robb
The best thing on the album by some distance, and it was a bonus track.
David Bläck
This is so heartbreaking and beautiful...
Bjørn-Sondre Svensen
This is the absolutely most beautiful country song i've ever heard in my life and i really just can't get enough of it because it's really really beautiful. And this really prooves that Nina Persson is the absolutely best singer songwriter in the world ever and that she can sing all kinds of music and it will always be really really really beautiful because she has a really really wonderful voice that no other female singer has and i just can't get enough of her because she's really really TALENTED and AMAZING and i'm a very very very huge fan of her.
And this song is a lot better then the most of the songs from the american country artists that are popular today because The Cardigans have beaten them all with this REALLY REALLY BEAUTIFUL SONG THEY'RE AMAZING.
vteckid79
must have listened to this song a 100 times in the past month,hurts and heals at the same....the cardigans are an amazing band that way.
Jellyfish
Heartbreaking song. Love the Cardigans!
TankDriverOriginal
I love the Cardigans!
Shihaam Isaacs
Love this song......
Jonathan Nai
Pretty happy to have found the Cardigans
Bjørn-Sondre Svensen
Jonathan Nai me also because The Cardigans is really the best rock band ever existed and their music is really the best music in the world ever because Nina's voice is so beautiful and unique that i can't go a whole day whitout listening to her.
aline amaral
most beautiful song of the cardigans