The Cardigans are a Swedish band that formed in Jönköping, Småland, Sweden … Read Full Bio ↴The Cardigans are a Swedish band that formed in Jönköping, Småland, Sweden in 1992. The band's musical style has varied greatly from album to album; encompassing their early indie-leanings passing through '60s-inspired pop and more band-based rock. Their current lineup is Nina Persson on vocals, Peter Svensson on lead guitar, Magnus Sveningsson on bass guitar, Bengt Lagerberg on drums and Lars-Olof Johansson on keyboards and guitar.

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

Travelling With Charley
The Cardigans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Once he gets a mystic call
Jump into his motorcar
Once we're rolling down the road
He's forgotten where to go

Travelling with Charley
My detective darling
My agent hasn't solved a case

My agent never finds a trace
But Charley has always style
Charley is always nice
Poor Charley
He would be nothing without me
Once I clear his memory
But he'll crash into a tree
Once we're getting to the place
Someone else has solved the case

Travelling with Charley
My detective darling
My agent hasn't solved a case
My agent never finds a trace
But Charley has always style
Charley is always nice
Poor Charley

He would be nothing without me
But I do love him

Overall Meaning

The Cardigans' song Travelling With Charley tells the story of the singer's travels with her partner Charley, who is a detective. The first verse describes Charley receiving a "mystic call" and jumping into his motorcar to begin their journey. However, as they're driving, Charley forgets where they're going. The chorus repeatedly refers to Charley as the singer's "detective darling" and mentions her agent's inability to solve cases or find "a trace." In contrast, Charley is praised for his style and pleasant nature. The second verse tells of the singer clearing Charley's memory, but even then he ends up crashing into a tree because someone else has already solved the case.

The lyrics paint Charley as a flawed but lovable character who is almost a comic counterpart to the more serious detective archetypes commonly found in stories. The singer's love for Charley is clear, even though she admits to having to clear his memory and that he would be "nothing" without her. However, it's also arguable that Charley's charm, personality, and style are what make him valuable, even if his investigative abilities are lacking.

Overall, the song seems to be a lighthearted tribute to a partner or friend who may not be the greatest at their job, but who has other qualities that make them a joy to be around.

Line by Line Meaning

Once he gets a mystic call
As soon as Charley receives a mysterious phone call

Jump into his motorcar
He quickly gets into his car

Once we're rolling down the road
As soon as we're driving on the road

He's forgotten where to go
Charley can't recall the destination

Travelling with Charley
I'm on a journey with Charley

My detective darling
Charley has detective abilities and is dear to me

My agent hasn't solved a case
My agent has not managed to resolve a single case

My agent never finds a trace
My agent can never seem to find any leads or evidence

But Charley has always style
Charley possesses an air of sophistication

Charley is always nice
Charley is kind-hearted

Poor Charley
It's unfortunate for Charley