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
Nasty Sunny Beam
The Cardigans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't get my dreams out
Of my sleepy head
I open up my eyes
And wonder where you are
But soon I realize
That you're not real
And I am
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam
I try to seal my mind
And get back to where you were
You were that perfect kind
You drove me crazy
Somewhere
In between of day and dream
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam
I'm floating down again
And my world is a syrup waterfall
I can't remember when
Or where
Or why
In between of day and dream
Life and death, a lazy stream
In between of day and dream
Hello, goodbye
You nasty sunny beam
The lyrics to The Cardigans' song "Nasty Sunny Beam" revolve around the feeling of being stuck in between consciousness and sleep. The second stanza suggests that the singer is aware that their dream is not real, but as they try to seal their mind and return to reality, they describe how the dream still influences their thoughts and actions in the present moment. This creates a feeling of confusion and uncertainty, with the lyrics describing the experience as being "somewhere in between of day and dream."
The chorus expresses this feeling of being trapped even further, with the phrase "hello, goodbye" addressing the fleeting nature of the dream world. The "nasty sunny beam" is a reference to the sunbeams that often filter through windows in the morning, interrupting sleep and creating a sense of discomfort. This feeling of discomfort is mirrored in the lyrics, which describe the syrup-like feeling of the world around them.
Overall, the song speaks to the human experience of feeling trapped in between different states of existence, and the way that these states can intermingle and influence each other. The dream world is not separate from the waking world, but instead a part of a larger, more complex experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't get out of bed
Struggling to get up and face the day
Can't get my dreams out
Being unable to let go of a previous dream
Of my sleepy head
Feeling foggy and uncertain upon waking
I open up my eyes
Starting to fully wake up
And wonder where you are
Thinking of a lost love or connection
But soon I realize
Realizing that the person is not there
That you're not real
Coming to terms with the fact that the person doesn't exist anymore
And I am
Feeling alone and disconnected
In between of day and dream
Feeling like life is in a constant state of flux
Life and death, a lazy stream
Comparing life to a river, moving slowly and without clear direction
Hello, goodbye
Acknowledging the fleeting nature of life and relationships
You nasty sunny beam
Describing the duality of the morning sun, both warm and relentless
I try to seal my mind
Attempting to push out negative thoughts and emotions
And get back to where you were
Trying to return to a happier time or memory
You were that perfect kind
Remembering something or someone as idealistically flawless
You drove me crazy
Acknowledging the power that love and obsession can have over a person
Somewhere
Feeling lost and uncertain about the future
I'm floating down again
Feeling like things are out of control and drifting aimlessly
And my world is a syrup waterfall
Feeling stuck and unable to move forward
I can't remember when
Experiencing a loss of memory or time
Or where
Feeling disoriented and unsure of surroundings
Or why
Questioning the purpose and meaning of life
In between of day and dream
Feeling like life is in a constant state of flux
Life and death, a lazy stream
Comparing life to a river, moving slowly and without clear direction
Hello, goodbye
Acknowledging the fleeting nature of life and relationships
You nasty sunny beam
Describing the duality of the morning sun, both warm and relentless
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NINA PERSSON, PETER ANDERS SVENSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
commaJ
incredible
Justin Hunt
Yes thank you for uploading this awesome song. Spotify unfortunately doesn’t have their album “The other side of the Moon” which has this song and many other great songs.
Shelby Talbot
bless you for this upload
Jay Ham
hello goodbye.. you nasty beam.. more metal undertones towards the muddle section
Justin Hunt
I’m the pre/Cardigans days, the boys in the band actually played metal. When Nina joined she asked why they played metal because they weren’t really angry guys.
The metal overtones make sense too because they are fans of metal; they covered a couple of Black Sabbath songs: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and Iron Man