The Cardigans

We've gone a long way
So why don't we stay here?
The hour is late
And this ain't a bad place
So why don't we stay?

The road's an old friend
We've walked it forever
And wandered away
Away...

Got dirt in my eyes
And ran out of water
Conversations ran dry
We got lost in the highway
We're stuck in the north now
So why don't we stay?

The road is my friend
But friends are forever
And roads like to bend
Bend...

We've gone a long way...

No radio stations
No signal to send
The road is my friend
But this is the end
The end...

One of the most pleasing pop groups of the ‘90s, the Cardigans specialized in sugary confections that would grow annoying very quickly if they weren’t backed by solid musicianship and clever arrangements. The band’s 1995 breakout album, Life, reflected the Cardigans at their most saccharine – the sunny disposition of vocalist Nina Persson being the major argument in favor – and critics inserted the group into the space age pop revivalist camp. the Cardigans later proved that they were more difficult to pigeonhole, however.

Even the band’s origins showed that their later appearance was quite misleading; two heavy metal fanatics formed the group in October 1992 in Jonkoping, Sweden. Guitarist Peter Svensson met bassist Magnus Sveningsson in a hardcore group, though he had previously trained in music theory and jazz arranging. The two later grew tired of metal and decided to form a pop band with vocalist Nina Persson – an art-school friend who had never sung professionally – plus keyboard player Lars-Olof Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.

All five Cardigans moved into a small apartment in 1993 and began recording a demo tape that entered the hands of producer Tore Johansson later that year. He liked what he heard and invited the group to record at his Malmö studio. Signed to the dance-oriented Stockholm label, the Cardigans released Emmerdale in May 1994. The single “Rise & Shine” became a hit on Swedish radio soon after the release of the LP, and a readers poll in Sweden’s Slitz magazine voted Emmerdale the best album of 1994.

more tracks from the album

Best Of (Bonus CD)

From the albums

For What It’s Worth - Single (2003)
Best Of (Bonus CD) (2008)

The Cardigans popular songs

The RoadThe Cardigans

The Cardigans

Best Of (Bonus CD)