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

Your New Cuckoo
The Cardigans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I saw you there
I stopped and stared
The curly girlie smiled
You really were

Too close to her
And people just went by
I saw your face

And her embrace

Your whisper in her ear
I know the score
'Cause I've heard it before
I read your lips with fear

Your words were clear (you said)
Lalalalalala
Let's say forever let's say it's true
Lalalalalala

Let's come together me and you

Lalalalalala
Your new cuckoo

Overall Meaning

The Cardigans' song "Your New Cuckoo" is a melancholic tune about a girl who spots her ex-boyfriend with a new girl. The song opens with her seeing him as he is getting emotionally close with this new girl, and the singer is visibly upset upon catching him in the act. She is shocked by how close they are to each other, and how unbothered they seem to be by the stares they receive from people passing by.

As she looks at his face, she recognizes his reassuring and affectionate whispers to the new girl's ear, and her fears are confirmed. He says to her, "Let's say forever, let's say it's true, let's come together me and you," implying that he has moved on and is starting with someone else. The singer in the song is heartbroken as she knows that she has heard these words before, and a sense of betrayal consumes her as she struggles to come to terms with the situation.

The chorus of the song is a repetition of the lyrics "Lalalalalala, Your new cuckoo," which suggests that the girl is angry and somewhat resentful of the new girl taking her place in his life. The term "cuckoo" is a reference to a parasitic bird that lays its eggs in another bird's nest and lets the foster parents raise its offspring. Hence, the new girl is the "cuckoo" in the song, coming in and taking what does not belong to her.

Line by Line Meaning

I saw you there
I noticed your presence

I stopped and stared
I paused and gazed at you

The curly girlie smiled
The curly-haired girl smiled

You really were
You were truly

Too close to her
In proximity to her

And people just went by
Passersby simply continued on

I saw your face
I observed your facial expression

And her embrace
And the way she hugged you

Your whisper in her ear
Your soft-spoken words to her

I know the score
I understand the situation

Cause I've heard it before
Because I've experienced this before