The Cardigans

Released: March 24, 2003

Songwriter: Peter Svensson Nina Persson

Producer: The Cardigans Per Sunding

[Verse 1]
With a sampled heartbeat and a stolen soul
I sold my songs to have my fortune told
And it said: "you should know that love will never die
But see how it kills you in the blink of an eye"

[Verse 2]
I know of love as a hot white light
That knocks you down and then leaves you dry
Oh, how can it be, sweet mama tell me why
Why all love's disciples have to wither and die?

[Chorus 1]
Please sister, help me, come on, do what you should
Please give me something, I'm not doing so good
I'm gone, done wrong, is there nothing you can say?
Please sister, help me, I'm not feeling okay

[Verse 3]
Give me belief that my time will come
And a toll-free helpline if I find someone
But she said: "you gave away what you never really had
And now your purse is empty, I can see why you're sad"

[Chorus 1]
Oh, please sister, help me, come on, do what you should
Please give me something, I'm not doing so good
I'm gone, done wrong, is there nothing you can say?
Please sister, help me, can you make me feel okay?

[Bridge]
So if it's true that love will never die
Then why do the lovers work so hard to stay alive?

Please
Please sister, help me
Please give me something

[Chorus 2]
Oh please sister, you know I do what I can
Oh sweet mama, please just send me a man
'Cause I'm gone, gone, is there nothing you can give?
Please sister, help me, I just need some love to live

[Outro]
Just a little love to live
And a little love to sing

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

Long Gone Before Daylight

From the album

Long Gone Before Daylight (2003)

The Cardigans popular songs

Please SisterThe Cardigans

The Cardigans

Long Gone Before Daylight