The Cardigans

Released: August 12, 1996

Songwriter: Ozzy Osbourne Tony Iommi W T Ward Terrence Butler

Producer: Tore Johansson

[Intro]
I am iron man

[Verse 1]
Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all?
Or if he moves will he fall?

[Verse 2]
Is he live or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
We'll just pass him there
Why should we even care?

[Hook]
Oh, iron man

[Verse 3]
He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
When he traveled time
For the future of mankind

[Verse 4]
Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

[Chorus]
Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Plan his vengeance
That he will soon unfold
No, nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
And nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge
Oh

[Verse 5]
Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again

[Hook]
Oh, iron man

[Outro]
Boop, boo-bee doop, boo-bee doop
Boo-bee doo-bee doo-bee doop
Boo-bee doop, boo-bee doo
Beep, bee-ba deep, bee-ba dee-ba dee-ba dee-ba dee-ba deep
Bee-ba deep bee-deep bee
Ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ba, ba-ba-da, ba-ba-da
Ba-ba-doo-ba doo-ba ba, ba-ba

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

First Band on the Moon

From the albums

Rise & Shine (New Version) - Single (1995)
First Band on the Moon (1996)

The Cardigans popular songs

Iron ManThe Cardigans

The Cardigans

First Band on the Moon