The Knife won a Swedish Grammy award for best pop group of the year 2003, but they boycotted the ceremony by sending two representatives of another artist group dressed as gorillas with the number 50 written on their costumes, apparently as a protest against male dominance within the music industry. Their album Deep Cuts was also nominated for a Swedish Grammy as the best record of the year 2003, although that award went to The Cardigans. It was also in 2003 that the The Knife was featured as Artist of the Week at HitQuarters, which helped them gain greater attention in the worldwide music community.
The group became prominent in late 2005 when José González covered "Heartbeats" on his 2003 album, Veneer. The song was used by Sony in a commercial for Bravia television sets, and released as a single in early 2006. The group commented on this in a Dagens Nyheter article, claiming that Sony paid a large sum of money to use the song. In view of the group's left-wing views and non-commercial philosophy, they excused this transaction on the basis that the money was needed to establish their record company.
The Knife's song "We Share Our Mothers' Health" from their album Silent Shout was featured by the iTunes store as a free song of the week in late 2006. This song was also featured in the ABC series Ugly Betty, as well as an episode of CSI: NY.
In February 2005, the Knife performed their first ever live show at London's ICA, appearing with Rex the Dog and playing in front of a video created for the event by artist/film maker Andreas Nilsson. With this one live performance The Knife embarked on a major tour in 2006, and after selling out shows worldwide, a DVD of the tour was announced. The DVD was released in Sweden on November 8, 2006, and is titled Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience.
Silent Shout was named the best album of 2006 by Pitchfork Media.
At the Swedish Grammy awards in January 2007, The Knife won in all six categories they were nominated in: Composer of the Year, Music DVD of the Year, Producer of the Year, Pop Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Again, they did not attend the award ceremony.
In 2009 the duo wrote the opera Tomorrow, In a Year, celebrating 150 years since Darwin's Origin of Species was published.
In April 2013 they released the album Shaking The Habitual.
In 2014 Karin Dreijer revealed in a interview that the Knife were calling it quits for good. "When we finish the tour now in November we will close down, it’s our last tour," they said. "We don’t have any obligations to continue, it should only and always be for fun."
One for You
The Knife Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you haven't slept for several days
You've been turning inside out, looking for reasons
And your black sorry eyes made you pale
And you couldn't catch them
You couldn't be there
You couldn't help them at all
If we say there is something above the mountains
If we say that there is something we can't see
Promise you will never believe me
'Cause I guess I'm just trying to make it easy
Everybody was laughing when they found us
One for you and one for me
Then they let us go to hunt us down again
And still you refuse to see
Why everything has to stay ugly
The song One for You by The Knife is a poignant and reflective piece that speaks to the feelings of despair and helplessness that come with grief. The lyrics speak of rumors that the subject is mourning and hasn't slept in days, which speaks to the depth of their pain. The imagery of the person turning inside out speaks to their search for meaning in the wake of tragedy, while their pale and sorry eyes are a symbol of the weight of their emotional burden.
The second verse shifts to a more existential and abstract perspective, with the singer musing on the idea of something beyond our understanding. They ask us to promise not to believe them, as they are simply trying to make sense of things themselves. Meanwhile, the chorus speaks to the idea that life can be cruel and unfair, with people laughing as they hunt down and victimize others. The subject of the song refuses to accept this ugliness, despite being surrounded by it.
Overall, One for You is a song that captures the pain of grief and the struggle to make sense of a world that can be cruel and unforgiving. The Knife's haunting and atmospheric sound adds to the emotional intensity of the piece, creating a powerful and unforgettable experience for the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
Rumors telling me you are mourning
People are spreading gossip that you are grieving
And you haven't slept for several days
You haven't been able to rest for many days
You've been turning inside out, looking for reasons
You have been searching for explanations and answers within yourself
And your black sorry eyes made you pale
Your sad, dark eyes have caused you to look pale and unwell
And you couldn't catch them
You were unable to reach or help them
You couldn't be there
You weren't able to be present or support them
You couldn't help them at all
You were powerless to assist them in any way
And it was cold
The situation felt harsh and unfeeling
If we say there is something above the mountains
What if we suggest there is something beyond what we can see?
If we say that there is something we can't see
What if there is something present that remains unseen?
Promise you will never believe me
I don't expect you to trust what I'm saying
'Cause I guess I'm just trying to make it easy
I'm only trying to simplify things, I don't have all the answers
Everybody was laughing when they found us
Others found amusement in our situation
One for you and one for me
Things were divided equally between us
Then they let us go to hunt us down again
And yet, they allowed us to leave, only to come after us once more
And still you refuse to see
You're still lacking understanding or insight
Why everything has to stay ugly
You struggle with comprehending why life often remains difficult or unpleasant
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KARIN ELIZABETH DREIJER ANDERSSON, OLOF BJORN DREIJER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheMaga82
Rumors telling me you are mourning
And you haven't slept for several days
You've been turning inside out, looking for reasons
And your black sorry eyes made you pale
And you couldn't catch them
You couldn't be there
You couldn't help them at all
And it was cold
If we say there is something above the mountains
If we say that there is something we can't see
Promise you will never believe me
'Cause I guess I'm just trying to make it easy
Everybody was laughing when they found us
One for you and one for me
Then they let us go to hunt us down again
And still you refuse to see
Why everything has to stay ugly
@Jaanine94
happy rhythm + sad vocals = incredible song, feeling unknown
@conradleadley2293
they are so different . the atmosphere they built is indescribable and changing , can't feel something like that in others
@sarav6459
Pasan los años y sigo volviendo a esta canción
@grec.
This is one of my favorite arrangements of Fever Ray songs.
The melodies just tell a story in themselves. How it feels alive and whispering. Silently speaking without words.
Beautiful!
@melissafernanda10
You meant the Knife
@grec.
@@melissafernanda10 indeed. By bad.
But Fever Ray has the same lead singer and composer. Hard sometimes for me to dicern from both.
@ooweeeooweee8871
@@grec.the Knife is older than fever ray
@grec.
@@ooweeeooweee8871 wouldn't have helped me much to know this. As i knew both bands at the same time. Haha.
@Manuling401k
This song has always reminded me of the toadwood forest soundtrack from mario & luigi partners in time
@bernardusmuller1109
Here for the first time in 2019!! yeaH Baby!!