Pass This On

I think these lyrics are really interesting in that they're not as "occult" as other lyrics by The Knife.

I actually saw the video of this song the first time I heard it, so I'm biased in thinking that maybe this song is sung/said by a guy who is into cross dressing or some alternative culture or lifestyle ("does he know what I do?") who likes his friend's brother. He's written some note or something for her to give to the brother because he's embarrassed ("pass this on") and he doesn't want to seem creepy or too straight forward ("Is he willing?", "I wasn't looking for more than just some company on the dance floor").

The age part could just be that this sister and {we'll just say gay} friend are older and this brother is younger.

Something VERY interesting about this song is that Karin sings it. In the video a transvestite sings it BUT according to the lyrics, it seems as if Karin is still singing it: Olof and the transvestite are dancing ("and when you two danced, oh what a dance") hence they are the brother and sister while Karin is the girl watching and falling in love. We see Karin at the very end staring dead on at Olof and the transvestite...which brings up tons of ideas of incest haha

I think The Knife are just being their highly creative selves by setting up the video that way though, I don't think there's anything going on :)

The Knife don't write light, lowbrow stuff, IMO. They're into weirdness, atmosphere and mood. They come from Sweden. Therefore, it must be psychological and sexual to the bone. Whoever says in a saddened tone that they are in love with the girl's brother feels a bit guilty about what they "do". They have hesitations - maybe the brother is not into someone older, they are jealous of the sister's close relationship with her brother and would like to partake in some of that closeness. They look at him like a mother looks at her growing up boy, jealous on any younger girl with died hair who might come to take him away and make her lose her heart. She wants to keep him for herself and for that purpose, she gets into a little role-playing, to forget the guilt: her son is no longer her son, it's just a close girl's brother, she doesn't even know his name, is he willing to role-play like she is? If she succeeds in seducing her boy, the sister would be responsible with passing this - her genes - on. Sister and brother, they share their mother's health.

I've always loved this song. The cheesy Casio steel drum rhythm combined with a feeling of longing and loneliness that's palpable makes it one of my favorites. I love the drag queen in the video, lip-syncing to Karin's voice, trying to be her, as it were, anything to get closer to the brother, the love object. She perfectly captures the mood of the song, and makes me wonder if it might have even been a drag queen who originally asked Karin to "pass this on," i.e. her feelings of love for the brother, if it was drawn from an experience she had. Everyone dancing at the end is the ultimate fantasy of everyone getting along, all barriers to understanding and acceptance obliterated.

There is no possibility of the singer's character ever being able to pass on the feelings herself, she can only admire the brother from a distance, obsessing over his laughter with his sister, the way they dance together. She is full of questions for someone who knows him better than she ever will. What kind of girls is he into? Would he accept me if he knew what I do? (Drag queen? Prostitute?) "Can he play," is he allowed to 'fool around?" Has he asked about my age?" She's full of doubt and inner conflict. What's his name? Maybe I shouldn't even ask that, it would spoil my fantasy. She is "in love" with someone whose name she doesn't even know. I get the impression Karin is very close to her brother, almost like they are twins or lovers, which makes the probing by this stranger doubly strange. Why would Karin share anything about her brother with this person?

What makes it moving is that we can all relate to having an intense crush on someone, and wanting to find out something, anything about them. Is there any possibility they might share our feelings? Haven't we all been there? Desperate for any scrap of information we can find about the object of our affection, but scared that something we might find out will ruin the fantasy we've built up in our minds. We really don't want to hear anything that would burst the bubble of our obsessive longing for something we secretly know we'll never have.

hands down, such a classic. love the bit about girls with dyed black hair.

Wow.. the video is amazingly intense, with the twist that the "girl" singing it is a transvestite. Fabulous percussion too.

Olof is good looking guy, and I think a lot of people are trying to get to know a bit about him before making their move, so they ask Karin all kinds of questions, and this is what the lyrics are about. It's her experiences of people trying to get to know Olof through her.

Could also be about the comments a lot of Knife fans probably have made about how handsome Olof is.

I really don't think there's any deeper meaning behind the lyrics from Karin's point of view, but of course it will mean something else to people listening to the song.

I think it's amusing some people think this is about incest though.

im guessing about someone liking someones brother? hahaha in the video its sung by a transvestite. its amazinggg!!

I love this song, its so perfect and crisp. i especially like the line "or is he more into young girls with dyed black hair"

Im seeing them next month, cant wait!

I just love some of the knifes lyrics.. They just hit a vein, and describe feelings so precise.. Not that i have ever been in love with someones brother, but just the general feeling of wanting to consult a friend with something that is quite absurd..

beautiful song and a great video. i love when a brother/sister group sing about being in love with "your brother".