The Knife was an electronic duo from Gothenburg, Sweden formed in 1999. The… Read Full Bio ↴The Knife was an electronic duo from Gothenburg, Sweden formed in 1999. The band consisted of siblings Karin Dreijer (formerly of Honey is Cool, now Fever Ray) and Olof Dreijer (Oni Ayhun) - who also run their own record company, Rabid Records. Their lyrics were often political and left-leaning, involving strong critique of capitalism, colonialism and discrimination, and expressing support for causes including but not limited to queer rights, feminism and gender politics. They rarely made public appearances and in promotional photos often wore bird's beak masks reminiscent of the masks worn by medieval plague doctors.

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."

You Make Me Like Charity
The Knife Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

More than a second
When reading the newspaper
I felt the war
I felt her exposed position
I saw myself in the picture
And I

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt

You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Knife's song "You Make Me Like Charity" are difficult to interpret as they are abstract and do not have a clear storyline. However, they appear to describe a feeling of disconnection from the world despite the singer's attempts to engage with it. The first few lines talk about trying to feel and touch but being unable to wake up, and then it shifts to a description of someone feeling the impact of war through a newspaper. The chorus repeats the idea that the person they are addressing makes them feel like charity instead of paying enough taxes.

The line "increase the size and you don't wake up" seems to describe a feeling of overwhelming information or stimuli that is preventing the singer from engaging with reality. They try to reverse it, sit astride it, but nothing works. The reference to feeling the war through a newspaper and seeing themselves in the picture suggests a level of empathy or connection to the suffering of others despite feeling disconnected from their own emotions.

The repeated line about being made to feel like charity instead of paying enough taxes suggests a frustration with someone who is not contributing enough to society, but it is unclear who they are referring to or how it relates to the rest of the song. Overall, the lyrics seem to express a sense of alienation and frustration with the world.

Line by Line Meaning

You try to feel but you can't wake up
You attempt to experience emotions, but you remain unresponsive to them.

You try to touch but you can't wake up
You try to make contact with something, but you cannot achieve a tangible connection.

You're holding eyes and you don't wake up
You're keeping your eyes open, but the situation around you doesn't affect you.

Increase the size and you don't wake up
Making things bigger doesn't change your level of consciousness.

I do it backwards but I don't wake up
You do things differently from others, but it doesn't awaken you to new experiences.

Try to reverse but I don't wake up
Inverting something doesn't help you to become more aware or alert.

I sit astride but I still don't wake up
You appear to be in control of the situation, but you are still unaware of its effects.

More than a second
The amount of time spent on this experience was more than a mere moment.

When reading the newspaper
This experience occurred while reading the news.

I felt the war
You felt the impact and consequences of the conflict.

I felt her exposed position
You had an emotional response to someone being vulnerable or unprotected.

I saw myself in the picture
You could relate to the situation and saw yourself involved in it.

And I
You experienced a moment of realization or introspection.

I took a cab there to hold her
You made an effort to be with someone in need, providing comfort.

I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You went to great lengths to empathize with someone's experience.

You make me like charity
The person you are trying to help makes you feel like a charitable organization.

Instead of paying enough taxes
You feel that society should do more to help those in need, rather than relying solely on individual acts of charity.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KARIN ELIZABETH DREIJER ANDERSSON, OLOF BJORN DREIJER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@HankMcGurk

4y↑13

You try to feel but you can't wake up
You try to touch but you can't wake up
You're holding eyes and you don't wake up
Increase the size and you don't wake up
I do it backwards but I don't wake up
Try to reverse but I don't wake up
I sit astride but I still don't wake up

More than a second
When reading the newspaper
I felt the war
I felt her exposed position
I saw myself in the picture
And I

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

All comments from YouTube:

@durplehaze6484

4y↑22

Of all their great songs, somehow this is my favorite!

@ryanhastings-echo9820

8y↑168

Perhaps the comment section on a YouTube video is not the appropriate place to have this discussion, but I have always interpreted this song as a socialist response to the notion of charity as a substitute for more formalized welfare. The Knife has a distinguished history of singing a song from multiple perspectives (such as in "Marble House"), and in these cases the intent is often to juxtapose the feelings and social constructions that permeate different social classes. In the case of this song, I feel that the intent is to portray a more affluent speaker who hears about the suffering of somebody else, and whose response is a desire to offer charity. The intent, as I see it, is to put this speaker in conversation with the object of their charity, and to experience the issue from both sides. This enables us as listeners to have a more framed conversation about the idea of charity vs. welfare- How do they make the giver feel, and how does it feel to be on the receiving end?

@gg0BSBZerg

7y↑1

uptick. I love the mixture of voices.

@marcinkruk3694

6y↑7

I like your interpretation, although I feel that the line "you make me like charity, instead of paying enough taxes" is a methaphor - the person speaking is putting some effort into making things better and the other is doing nothing about it, although it's something that everyone should do, just like paying taxes. The one that is doing something about this problem is like charity, because they care about it and put their energy, but if everyone just what they are supposed to, the problem wouldn't even exist.
Personally I think the song is about sexism and the inequality it brings. The singing woman is subject to sexism as well but "doesn't wake up" and just tolerates it, then she sees something in the newspaper (or just the news, whatever) and she notices the problem, she goes on to do something about this, and she states that it just takes people to "pay enough taxes" so to be human and be considerate of each other etc. and the problem wouldn't exist.
I'm not sure if I put my interpretation into words in the right way, but I hope you see my point :) I just mean that I think charity is a metaphor - not actual charity/including money etc.

@joellove6353

5y↑5

Paying taxes is paying for war. If you pay taxes you’re guilty of murder.

@kaffe4112

5y↑8

@@joellove6353 The Knife is a sweedish band.

@kaffe4112

5y↑6

I have interpreted the same way.
The intro indicates that these are very naive people, struggeling to find their empathy. Their childish voices indicates how naive they view the world. They have empathy when it is visual, not taking under consideration that taxes goes to welfare also for people not on TV, the thousands lying at home awaiting an operation for instance.
"I saw myself in the picture", almost like bloggers wanting to brag about their big hearts in a photoshoot, when they have no idea what tax really is about.

10 More Replies...

@holdmybeer

5y↑47

so underrated it's sickening.

@circolombisque2285

5y↑2

Agreed

@sarahwilson976

5y↑2

Yes

@22Ein

4y↑3

I’ve had this album for twelve years and still I wind up here just to listen to it. It’s legendary. Silent Shout reigns though.

@billsanders29

8y↑35

Man, I heard this song like 10 years ago on some schmuck myspace page saying that he was the artist behind this song and I've always remembered really liking it but never knew where to find it. Then I heard another song by this band in a movie and knew instantly it was them and found it pretty easily.

@joeyquiroga3102

Lucas Biron what movie?

@ember_fox666

6y↑1

Stealing from such a brilliant duo and claiming to be the original artist... wtf? What an asshat

@micahmontemayor9359

Lucas Biron good for you. The knife is an amazing experience. I too am back to them ten years later. Still in love.

@joellove6353

Hey don’t call me a schmuck!

@brociopath3702

what a dumb schmoe-hawk

@mberghuis1554

2y↑2

So beautifull amazing

@quintus_iucundus

41w↑1

I interpret this song as being about a man in a first world country reading about a foreign war in the newspaper. He sees a photo of a little girl suffering amidst the war, and he sees himself in her and imagines what she must be going through. He’s ashamed of his complacency, as well as the fact that his taxes are supporting the war that caused this child so much suffering. Perhaps in this realization, he is radicalized enough to rebel against the war.

In the first verse, he’s imagining himself in her position and what she must be feeling, and he’s heartbroken. Notice the language in the beginning of the song. The first three lines are as the man, and they’re said in the second person. The next three lines are spoken as the girl, and they’re said in the first person. She’s trying to wake up, as if she desperately wants this all to be a bad dream. Listen to the desperation in the last line of the verse.

The second verse is a prologue to the first. He sees a photo of the little girl in the newspaper, and it strikes him. He feels somehow connected to this girl, and the war suddenly becomes real to him rather than an abstract concept occurring in a far-away place. (“I felt the war, I felt her exposed position, I saw myself in the picture”)

The third verse and those after it describe him imagining himself in her position, and how his attitude towards the war changes from one of complacency to one of guilt and empathy for the innocent lives affected. In his mind, he takes a metaphorical cab to the airport, then a plane to that far-away country in his desire to comfort this little girl and to feel what she felt. In the line “you make me feel like charity, instead of paying enough taxes,” he is saying that he feels ashamed that his taxes are supporting the war (note the disgust in the word “taxes” that he transitions to), and he would much rather that money go to charitable causes to help those affected.

@goblinchunks7585

6y↑5

this shit slaps

@j.p.holiday8899

4y↑2

Magnificent.

@Kneffi

10y

I wanna thank Moss for getting me back to my old roots! Appreciate it old man! (Y)

@MrTommo20

9y↑6

KOCHAM WAS !!!DALIŚCIE MI DUŻ OWRAŻEN JESTEŚCIE NAJ! NAJ! LEPSI.

@kelpcoo

10y↑3

resonates so hard w my lyphe

@Freshtildeath

4y↑3

I heard this song back in 2018. Was playing WoW and looking up rotations for my warlock and some chick had this song behind the video. Was before the knife had their own song up on youtube so had to go there to listen to it.

@ky9933

"some chick" you're a loser

@DarkoGarcia730

10y↑3

Insane <3

@holdmybeer

7y↑6

pandora has turned me onto so many cool obscure bands.

@GenerationNada

9y↑45

I took a cab there to hold her
I took a plane there to feel what she felt
You make me like charity
Instead of paying enough taxes

@EpoNandrolone

8y↑6

Anyone notice that this is a prelude for the 3 years later "We share our mother's health"? Amazing

@tagentbord

cool

@inkajoo

how?

@micahmontemayor9359

Epo Nandrolone if you have the album y’all u know.

@PombarGirl-

Krass gut..eigenen Stil halt! Sauber!

@benstricker1295

5y↑1

Right now !

@pastylegs

6y↑9

Ryan and Tomi, I agree with both of you and I love it. It makes me think that this song is about the alienation of responsibility and problems. The verse "You make me like charity instead of paying enough taxes" makes me picture a person born in a environment where the fix of the problem is to pay it off and that idea extends to the government using taxes to fix bigger problems. This level of alienation drives the person to be disconnected, fake and never really feeling what it means to be a fully actualized person. So, instead of paying taxes this person takes a cab or plane to go to the heart of the disaster to connect with and be a part of the pain of the human race.

@kaffe4112

5y↑1

yes.

@jonatanewald905

2y↑1

To me charity is something you pay to ease your conscience, it’s like buying roses only when you done something bad and not really caring the rest of the time.
Taxes is a real investment that you pay every single month, it’s the equivalent of investing in a relationship every single day, the same way that taxes builds a working society of mutual aid every single day instead of like charity that is only given to some problem currently in the spotlight soon to be forgotten.
The Knife is a Swedish band where taxes goes to welfare and not war…

@gunchap

11y↑3

oh hi there Hamster

@joshuathompson7306

3y↑1

I like songs that are open to interpretation

@latenightcashews

2y↑3

this entire track is sick

@jagdavies1

10y↑3

They do, no wrong

@MsJoaovitor555

5y↑1

i love the comma

@HankMcGurk

4y↑13

@dylanguanoluisa8923

3y↑1

so fkn good

@circolombisque2285

5y↑1

I personally interpret this song as people looking at problems that are occurring in other countries (corrupt government, war, sexism, drug epidemics, disease, etc.) then trying to "wake up" and realize it's happening around them, doing everything they can to try to feel what these other people in these other countries are feeling.

@chasethecat2399

4y↑7

This song is intentionally ambiguous, meant to apply your own personal meaning to it. If you know Karin at all, you know ambiguity is their forte <3

@truegreenbeard7874

2y↑1

in other words you don't have an interpretation or at least no interpretation you are willing to put out there. Thanks for playing or rather not playing.

@CriusDigital

2y↑1

💯💯

@TomiDeLuna

9y↑18

The best anti materialism song ever! if people helped each other out, no one would have to pay taxes <3

@misspetedoherty

9y↑4

Myles Ainley come on... wake up

@lineseeking

9y↑2

Re△Love∞ution Communism is where force dominates every interaction.. it's only anti-materialistic insofar as people want to take all material goods and share them amongst their greedy pathetic selves.

@misspetedoherty

9y↑2

bluediablo9
you know what I don't give a fuck about politics

@nikole2tha

11y↑1

fucking awesome

@keithlarsen7557

4y↑1

"You make me like Chardonnay, instead of cheep beer from Texas" - Thanks, I'll be here all week.

But for real, I wish this had a music video.

@MeimiMarmalade

8y↑13

this song isn't even talking about taxes or charity. that part is an analogy to the attention people give to sexism and objectification of women in media
(ex: oversexualization, like the line in this song says:
"When reading the newspaper
I felt the war
I felt her exposed position" the phrase here being "her exposed position" )
the war being the war against those who are against sexism and those who push it onto media to be consumed by others.
people give as much attention to sexism as people do charity, it is something they feel is only VOLUNTARY to give rather than something we need to do or pay attention to and act upon(taxes are mandatory to pay for, unlike giving out money for charity, that is a person's own choice)
please stop talking about this song as if it's about anti-materialism.

@ShacoMcbako

8y↑13

ok what the fück who are you
on what basis exactly are you asserting that your shitty basic ass feminist reading of this songs lyrics is in any way superior to another? your argument is basically as such: "ok guys ugh it's not about this it just talks about that because itS A METAPHOR ugh fucking sheeple i know because i SAID So"

the knife making a song about western ignorance and lack of action and self-congratulatoriness is just as viable an idea as the knife making a song about "the war on those who are against sexism" (which is a fucking imaginary war by the way), if not more so. fuckouttahere

@MeimiMarmalade

8y↑9

Alvin Row cool, dont wanna really argue with someone who's saying sexism isn't something people are fighting. maybe i'm wrong sure. And I was definitely heated about reading all of comments talking about how the song was about anti-materialism or whatever, so my opinion was written out more as as if I were stating facts and that was a dumb thing to do cus I'm not Karin or Olaf so it's not like i actually know what the song's REALLY about. but i dont think it's far fetched to say that The Knife wouldn't be talking about feminism in their songs, they're self proclaimed 'postcolonial feminists'. you can look it up. They also had the Guerilla Girls talk for them in a music ceremony instead of accepting the award as a protest against 'male dominance in the industry'. here's some proof.
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/music/mu_knife_bio.html
didnt just make that up from my head. it's not because "i SAID So" it's because The Knife wants to speak about gender politics in their music. Sorry I rustled your jimmies man.

@ShacoMcbako

8y↑2

Nina Garcia
i mean it's nothing personal i just disliked the way you went about stating your thoughts it seemed domineering and needlessly self-assured

Anyway yes I know that the knife is VERY feminist but they are also VERY socialist and just alll around VERY political so they could absolutely write a song that was about a political topic that didnt directly speak to gender dynamics. Like, gender dynamics are by nature power dynamics and generally caring about gender dynamics comes from caring about the general intersection of inequality in the world. this song could be speaking to a different aspect of that broader topic.

And i know that sexism is a thing people are fighting, i just disagree that there is a "war on feminism" or anything of that sort. there are detractors, certainly, but the west is largely very liberal and very feminist and i would argue that they form the majority and have the support of most, despite dissenters. nearly every major news publication has some section dedicated to coverage of feminist issues, so it's difficult for me to understand why one might think that feminism at large is in any way being persecuted endemically.

@MeimiMarmalade

8y↑2

Alvin Row Yeah, I apologize for that lol. It was definitely presumptuous of me to talk that way. I do agree that the west (if by west you mean the US) is largely a feminist-friendly place. Other places are catching up but even as more and more people move towards these views, women are still being objectified in media. that to me along with ongoing acts of violence against women, harrassment of any kind, and the glass ceiling is a sign that there are still people out there who do not agree with the idea that women should be treated as equals to men, as people- to me that is the "war" against feminism, regardless of whether or not people understand the term. i mean now that i think about it, maybe it's the way i worded it that maybe jarred you, cus it could mean a buttload of things if looking at the phrase in different perspectives.

@MeimiMarmalade

Alvin Row this is the most i've commented on a youtube video lmao

14 More Replies...

@biganna37

6y↑3

Oryx and Crake?

@aldry2829

6y↑3

Taxation is theft but I love this song so much.

@logandevine4225

5y↑7

boo

@mkav

Lol :D

@durplehaze6484

5y↑4

ASMR

@epilepsydance8285

5y↑3

i took a pill there to feel what she felt

@carmenkochl2934

,,,,,,,,,,,hammer 2018**

@arinakucheieva5493

carmen köchl ця

@smaidiigaa25

11y

The second comment! This song reminds me of an old metro

@rebe1764

11y↑1

First comment!! lol... Only comment...

@dkraft1

7y↑8

...but I still... Don't . Wake . Up .

@Alianger

such a (proto-)woke line

@HankMcGurk

5y↑1

We mad the system, stupid.

@RonaldPaulvanDam

10y↑5

Soko, is that you?

@paramanic08

9y↑2

I thought the same thing!

@RonaldPaulvanDam

9y↑1

Actually, I thought: "Yoko, is that you?". But then there was autocorrect.:-)

@saiasdlalsdsk1203

@@RonaldPaulvanDam still accurate tho lol

@HankMcGurk

5y↑1

Intercepted the period I mailed? With CM?

@jaimemanzo2109

Had to let the children freaking out about Bernie giving less than 1% to charity in on this one.

@kellmartinjoakimgustafsson8622

hejhej

@lineseeking

10y↑2

LIBERTARIAN WIERDNESS

@link2772

10y↑21

The message of this song is anti-libertarian. The narrator/singer isn't someone to emulate. It's about fetishizing global conflict/trauma while ignoring the people suffering around you. Look at the corporations that flood money into NGOs and non-profits while doing anything they can to avoid paying taxes and lobbying to cut funding to social service programs.

@lineseeking

9y↑2

link2772 What?

Where do they glorify trauma? They are talking about a war and wanting to help, catching a cab to meet someone suffering and then wanting to pay charity instead of taxes, which go towards ineffective government programs. Feeling a war or what someone else felt? This is empathy... War is funded by taxation, no where do they talk about corporations and their tax rates. (US has some of the highest in the world.) If someone likes charity over paying taxes, they just clued into the violence and destruction caused by government and realized that the dollar goes a lot farther with charity than it does with welfare.

@misspetedoherty

9y↑1

bluediablo9 well, I agree to some level to both of you

@ddei989

9y↑4

bluediablo9 How you could possibly think The Knife are libertarian or even have libertarian views absolutely baffles me. Just listen to Shaking the Habitual and try to tell me that they're libertarian, if anything they'd probably align themselves with socialist viewpoints more than anything else

@lineseeking

9y↑2

D. Dei989 You know what? You're right. I agree with you, however, in a vacuum the lyrics are ambiguous enough to have my kind of reading. It's socialist, the knife is socialist, and that's fine. Sure there is sarcasm, but given the knife, it's hard to tell that they aren't just whackos trying to be different. I don't really listen to them, so when I heard this, I got excited to hear someone compare charity and taxes in a song, but really they are just socialists, maybe even communists, after further research.

2 More Replies...