Released: March 24, 2003

Songwriter: Peter Svensson Nina Persson

The music's playing on
But something's wrong
Something's gone
The major's turning blue
And so did you
So did you

I'm noticing the dirt
And it hurts that you left
You really had to go
So you say
So you say

Birds leave their nests
And they fly
There's nobody left here but I

If there is a chance
Just one in this world
That we'll ever dance
Again as it turns
If there is a chance
If there is a way
There's one record left
That you haven't heard

The neighbours had to move
Go away
Go away
I can't afford to leave
So I'll stay
I have to stay

Birds know it's best
To fly
And not stick around and cry

If there is a chance
Just one in this world
That we'll ever dance
Again as it turns
If there is a chance
If there is a way
There's one record left
That you haven't heard
And I'll keep it spinning...

The Cardigans

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.