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 Captain
The Knife Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coming home after a dozen of walks
Coming home after a long long war
Coming home after a dozen of wars
We are out of wind
We have pock-marked chin
We have lots of water
One thousand stories and there's always more
We've been offered one more lap to go
In my hand I hold a key
It's dear to me cause I know where it leads
We are out of wind
We have pock-marked chin
We have all this water
We turn the other cheek and we grin
The Knife's 'The Captain' is a haunting and enigmatic song, filled with metaphors and symbols that are open to interpretation. At its core, the song is about the struggle and hardships of life, and the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit. The lyrics describe the journey of a person who has been through a "long long walk" or "a dozen of wars" and is now coming home, exhausted and battle-worn. The repeated lines "We are out of wind / We have pock-marked chin / We have all this water / We turn the other cheek and we win" convey a sense of exhaustion, but also of determination and perseverance. Despite being battered by life's challenges, the singer is still standing, still fighting, and still able to smile.
The lyrics also contain several images that hint at deeper meanings. The line "In my hand I hold a key / It's dear to me cause I know where it leads" suggests that the singer has found a path forward, and is moving towards something that is important to them. The water mentioned in the song could represent either sustenance or danger, depending on the context. And the repeated mention of turning the other cheek could be a reference to the biblical injunction to turn the other cheek to one's enemies, or to the idea of not giving up in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Coming home after a long long walk
Returning from a great distance after an extended period of travel
Coming home after a dozen of walks
Retracing steps taken many times before
Coming home after a long long war
Returning home from a lengthy, difficult conflict
Coming home after a dozen of wars
Experiencing many internal struggles or battles throughout life, but ultimately arriving at a peaceful state
We are out of wind
Exhausted and out of energy
We have pock-marked chin
Scarred or bruised from the trials and tribulations of life
We have lots of water
Having an abundance of resources or emotions
We turn the other cheek and we win
Choosing forgiveness or acceptance instead of retaliation, and ultimately coming out victorious
One thousand stories and there's always more
Having lived through numerous experiences, with plenty more to come
We've been offered one more lap to go
Given the opportunity to continue on, to keep going
In my hand I hold a key
Holding the key to one's own destiny or future
It's dear to me cause I know where it leads
Valuing the knowledge and understanding of what lies ahead
We turn the other cheek and we grin
Choosing to face challenges with a positive attitude and resilience
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KARIN ELIZABETH DREIJER ANDERSSON, OLOF BJORN DREIJER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roiy Benkel
Coming home after a long, long walk
Coming home after a dozen of walks
Coming home after a long, long war
Coming home after a dozen of wars
We are out of wind
We have pockmarked chin
We have lots of water
We turn the other cheek and we win
One thousand stories and there's always more
We've been offered one more lap to go
In my hand I hold a key
It's dear to me cause I know where it leads
We are out of wind
We have pockmarked chin
We have all this water
We turn the other cheek with a grin
fischkeks & kreistoast
The album is a masterpiece.
333begemot - Radio televizija Tonina Bruštulin
I second that!
A MG
Ir really is! 🙌👌😊
weeezil8888
Holy fuck this song
spankthewan
Once a year I find myself drawn to this album, reflecting on the feelings of a confused boy in a far away land, listening to the manipulated sounds of a strange Swedish woman and her brother
Phil Hipp
I am in peace when listening to this, driving in the clouds on my metallic ship, sailing toward the end of life on my own path
Emily
If this song doesn't make you feel something then I don't know what will.
Roiy Benkel
Coming home after a long, long walk
Coming home after a dozen of walks
Coming home after a long, long war
Coming home after a dozen of wars
We are out of wind
We have pockmarked chin
We have lots of water
We turn the other cheek and we win
One thousand stories and there's always more
We've been offered one more lap to go
In my hand I hold a key
It's dear to me cause I know where it leads
We are out of wind
We have pockmarked chin
We have all this water
We turn the other cheek with a grin
Mighty Moon
I remember hearing this song on the 9 trailer and I listened to it all the time back then but that feels like a lifetime ago or a dream for some reason.
joseph freeman
Fuckin bop