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."
The Bird
The Knife Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would fly high over the world
Come home at night to your garden
Build a nest among the branches
And I'll comb your hair with my beak
If I was a bird
I would count my time in pearls
You'll breed bugs and keep me well fed
And I proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
But you wanted me to be a girl
Without feathers without urge
Then my wings quick disappeared
And left was only fear
And I proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
Proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
I'll have to fly
The Knife's "Bird" is a song that poetically explores the juxtapositions of freedom and oppression, dreams and expectations, and natural instincts versus societal norms. The singer of the song wishes to be a bird, a symbol of freedom, and the first stanza paints a vivid picture of what it would be like to soar high above the world and then return home to the garden to be with the loved one. The bird would build a nest among the branches, and instead of using fingers, it would comb its partner's hair with its beak. These images are very romanticized and represent an ideal world where the singer and the loved one can be free and happy.
However, in the second stanza, the singer reveals that the loved one wanted her to be a girl without feathers or urge. The loved one wants the singer to conform to the societal expectations of what a woman should be like - soft, gentle, and submissive. In this context, the wings (symbolic of freedom and independence) disappear, leaving fear behind. Bird's wings are cut, and her natural instincts, her urge to fly, are ignored or suppressed. The singer, then, proclaims that she'll have to fly, a metaphorical way of saying that she must be true to her nature and not let others crush her spirit.
The song is deeply introspective, and it speaks to the soul of anyone who has ever felt trapped or shackled by societal norms. It's beautiful in its idealism, and its musical composition, with its dreamlike melodies and beautiful vocals, adds to the overall mood of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
If I was a bird
If I had the freedom to fly away and explore like a bird.
I would fly high over the world
I would soar above the world and all of its troubles.
Come home at night to your garden
My home would be with you in your beautiful garden.
Build a nest among the branches
I would create a safe haven for us to rest and live together.
And I'll comb your hair with my beak
I would show my love for you by nurturing and grooming you.
I would count my time in pearls
Each moment with you would be a precious gem worth treasuring.
Under my wings you'll find shelter
I would protect you from harm and give you a place to belong.
You'll breed bugs and keep me well fed
You would sustain my livelihood while I give you my love.
But you wanted me to be a girl
You wanted me to fit into your societal expectations of a woman.
Without feathers without urge
Without the freedom to express myself or follow my desires.
Then my wings quick disappeared
My spirit and potential was stifled and quashed by your expectations.
And left was only fear
My creativity and passion was replaced with fear and anxiety.
And I proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
I declare that I must leave and find my own way, free to be myself.
I'll have to fly
I must escape and find my true purpose and freedom.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KARIN ELIZABETH DREIJER ANDERSSON, OLOF BJORN DREIJER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kaydewitt1398
Lyrics-
If I was a bird
I would fly high over the world
Come home at night to your garden
Build a nest among the branches
And I'll comb your hair with my beak
If I was a bird
I would count my time in pearls
Under my wings you'll find shelter
You'll breed bugs and keep me well fed
And I proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
But you wanted me to be a girl
Without feathers without urge
Then my wings quick disappeared
And left was only fear
And I proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
Proclaim the reason why I'll have to fly
I'll have to fly
@biancavalenzuela5394
El cuchillo - Pájaro
Si yo fuera un pájaro
Volaría alto sobre el mundo
Ven a casa por la noche a tu jardín
Construir un nido entre las ramas
Y te peinaré el pelo con mi pico
Si yo fuera un pájaro
Cuento mi tiempo en perlas
Bajo mis alas encontrarás refugio
Usted criará insectos y me mantendrá bien alimentado
Y proclamo la razón por la que voy a tener que volar
Pero querías que fuera una niña
Sin plumas sin necesidad
Entonces mis alas desaparecieron rápidamente
Y se fue sólo el miedo
Y proclamo la razón por la que voy a tener que volar
Proclame la razón por la que voy a tener que volar
Tendré que volar
@mayak102
this song is addictive..:-)
@leviux
This music is so legit, really there is no music like the knifes
@aniag27
i have goosebumbs all over my body while listening them wich is not happening often they are taking me to other better world
@nickshamas
One of the best albums of all time
@panther9able
The Knife!They cut thru the crap!THE DYNAMIC DUO!Brilliant,raw,exhilarating!
@ericfoster8411
That guitar line with that synth is perfect
@5iF3R
I love Karins un-tamed raw yet melodious voice :)
@dboyzee1
this song is nothing short of remakable! Love that quirky voice. Fly baby fly!
@darean333
what a cute voice ^.^
@icanbuyyou
Fantastyczna piosenka. aranż wywołuje ciarki na plecach.