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
The Road
The Cardigans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So why don't we stay here?
The hour is late
And this ain't a bad place
So why don't we stay?
The road's an old friend, we've walked it forever
And wandered away
Away...
Got dirt in my eyes
And ran out of water, conversations ran dry
We got lost in the highway
We're stuck in the north now
So why don't we stay?
The road is my friend, but friends are forever
And roads like to bend
Bend...
We've gone a long way...
No radio stations,
No signal to send
The road is my friend
But this is the end
The end ...
In The Cardigans' song "The Road," the singer is stranded on a long and lonely stretch of highway, but rather than continuing on their way, they suggest staying put in this desolate location. The lyrics convey the sense of fatigue and weariness that comes with prolonged travel, and the deep-rooted desire to finally stop moving and settle down. The singer is in search of a sense of belonging, a sense of home, a place where they can finally find rest.
The line "The road's an old friend, we've walked it forever and wandered away" implies that the singer has been on this journey for a long time, and that the road has become a familiar companion in their travels. The singer acknowledges that they have strayed from the road at times, but it continues to call out to them, offering a sense of comfort and familiarity that they cannot resist. The repetition of the line "We've gone a long way" emphasizes the extensive length of the traveler's journey and underscores the exhaustion that comes with constantly being on the move.
Ultimately, the singer is forced to confront the reality that they cannot stay in this place forever, no matter how much they might want to. Even though the road has been a constant presence in their life, it cannot provide them with a permanent sense of home. The last lines of the song "No radio stations, no signal to send,/ The road is my friend/ But this is the end," suggest that the singer has accepted this fact, and is finally ready to move on to a new chapter in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
We've gone a long way
We have come a long way in our journey.
So why don't we stay here?
Considering the journey, why don't we stay at this point?
The hour is late
Nighttime has arrived.
And this ain't a bad place
The current place is somewhat comfortable.
So why don't we stay?
Hence, why don't we halt here for a while?
The road's an old friend, we've walked it forever
The path has been our longtime companion.
And wandered away
Although we have lost our way sometimes.
Got dirt in my eyes
There's dust in my eyes disturbing my view.
And ran out of water, conversations ran dry
We have exhausted our water supply, and our conversations have also run out.
We got lost in the highway
We lost our way on the road.
We're stuck in the north now
Currently, we are stranded in the northern area.
So why don't we stay?
Therefore, why don't we stop here and wait until we figure out our next step?
The road is my friend, but friends are forever
Although the path is course is familiar to me, friends are a lifelong companionship.
And roads like to bend
The route bends over time.
We've gone a long way...
We've journeyed so far.
No radio stations,
Unfortunately, there are no radio stations in reach.
No signal to send
We have no way of communicating with anyone.
The road is my friend
Despite our problems, the route has been our trustworthy friend.
But this is the end
Sadly, this marks the end of our journey.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NINA PERSSON, PETER ANDERS SVENSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@myytexp7493
someday this song will get it's place - what an absolute gold!
@diablodiablodiablo3827
Listening to this in 2021, a year of lockdown, 7 years since hitting rock bottom, 2 years clean now, so long since we parted ways and I still think of her every single day. Life goes on and I only wish for me not to hurt anyone anymore. Hope she‘s happy, wish her the best. Thanks for this song.
@XVAJ2024
This band is really underrated!❤
@lipaz6891
I think this song is one of their best, most beautiful songs. I don't understand how it's so unfamiliar
@purorockyaguita
Me hace llorar esta cancion, es muy hermosa como los cardigans
@marcegmolina
TEMAZO ❤
@austntexan
Great song.
@bach010
what a lovable video
@chrishb7074
05:53. Where Nina starts knitting an actual cardigan.
Why are Swedish bands so good at break-up songs?
So good. Uniquely sounds like The Cardigans, with an extra something of George Harrison and an echo of Tom Petty about it...
@jetwowairforce
Muuuuuy bueno...! ;-)