The Cardigans

Released: February 18, 1994

Songwriter: Magnus Sveningsson Peter Svensson

Producer: Tore Johansson

[Verse 1]
Sick, tired and homeless
With no one here to sing for
Tired of being weightless
For all these looking good boys

[Chorus]
You can always say my attic has its charm
You can always say you did no major harm
You can always say that summer had its charm
And that you did no major harm
Oh, spare me if you please

[Verse 2]
Sick, tired and sleepless
With no one else to shine for
Sick of all my distress
But I won't show I'm still poor

[Chorus]
You can always say my attic has its charm
You can always say you did no major harm
You can always say that summer had its charm
And that you did no major harm
Oh, spare me if you please

[Chorus]
You can always say my attic has its charm
You can always say you did no major harm
You can always say that summer had its charm
And that you did no major harm
You can always say that
You can always say that
Oh, spare me if you please

[Guitar solo]

[Outro]
Symptoms are so deep
Something here's so wrong
Nothing is complete
Nowhere to belong
Symptoms are so deep
I think I'd better stay
Here on my own
So spare me if you please

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

Emmerdale

From the albums

The Cardigans popular songs

Sick & TiredThe Cardigans

The Cardigans

Emmerdale