The Sign (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Sign" is a 1993 dance-pop
song by the Swedish band Ace of Base
. The song was an international hit, reaching Number two in the United Kingdom
and spending six non-consecutive weeks as number one on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in the United States
. It appeared on the band's album Happy Nation
(entitled The Sign in North America.)
The song was the #1 song of 1994 according to Billboard magazine's year-end charts. The song was ranked at #51 on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs for the first 50 years of the Hot 100 chart.
The song has been covered by The Mountain Goats
, and was also heavily featured in the fifth season finale of American Dad!
, "Great Space Roaster
".
At the beginning of the song, one of the band members (a male) says, "Shock!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jFtzVa80A Possibly, he meant to say, "F--- you!", but he's saying "Shock!" instead of the "f" word. One of the members also says, "Shock!" near the end, before the final refrain.
(also known as key of life) and a djed
(ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability). The music video is directed by Mathias Julin.
Amid the images is a little story of a man and woman sitting side by side until the man leaves, seemingly abandoning the woman. However, he comes back with a rose and offers it to the woman. The woman graciously accepts and takes his hand. However, a bright light shines in the woman's face, drawing her away, abandoning the man and dropping the rose on the chair.
There are two versions of the music video of "The Sign", edited in different ways with some different images. For example in video 1, it ends with Jenny standing in red dress before a ankh appears in fire. Video 2 ends with a black/white picture of all 4 members of Ace of Base before the ankh appears in fire.
"The Sign" has been widely interpreted as chronicling a woman's journey from a dysfunctional relationship to the convent. As reflected in the music video, she turns from the man to the light before her, having seen the sign that opened up her eyes and brought her into the "light where [she] belong[ed]."
Mathias Julin also directed music videos by Inner Circle: "Sweat" (1992) and "Games People Play" (1994).
CD single – Germany
CD single – Japan
CD single – UK
CD single – U.S.
CD maxi – France
7" single – France
On several of the bands compilation albums, an error occurred with "The Sign", cutting one second from the beginning.
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song by the Swedish band Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
. The song was an international hit, reaching Number two in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and spending six non-consecutive weeks as number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It appeared on the band's album Happy Nation
Happy Nation
Happy Nation is the debut album of Ace of Base, a pop music group based in Sweden. It was released in early 1993 in Europe, Africa and Latin America on Festival Records. The album is the third highest-selling debut album by a group after Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park...
(entitled The Sign in North America.)
The song was the #1 song of 1994 according to Billboard magazine's year-end charts. The song was ranked at #51 on The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs for the first 50 years of the Hot 100 chart.
The song has been covered by The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
, and was also heavily featured in the fifth season finale of American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, "Great Space Roaster
Great Space Roaster
"Great Space Roaster" is the eighteenth episode and the season finale of the fifth season of American Dad!. It originally aired on May 16, 2010. It was written by Jonathan Fener and directed by Joe Daniello...
".
At the beginning of the song, one of the band members (a male) says, "Shock!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jFtzVa80A Possibly, he meant to say, "F--- you!", but he's saying "Shock!" instead of the "f" word. One of the members also says, "Shock!" near the end, before the final refrain.
Music video
The music video of the song features the pop group singing amidst romantic and frolic images; "The Sign" was depicted as an ankhAnkh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
(also known as key of life) and a djed
Djed
The djed symbol is a pillar-like ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability. It has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian god Osiris, especially in the form Banebdjedet . Djedu is the Egyptian name for Busiris, a centre of the cult of Osiris...
(ancient Egyptian symbol representing stability). The music video is directed by Mathias Julin.
Amid the images is a little story of a man and woman sitting side by side until the man leaves, seemingly abandoning the woman. However, he comes back with a rose and offers it to the woman. The woman graciously accepts and takes his hand. However, a bright light shines in the woman's face, drawing her away, abandoning the man and dropping the rose on the chair.
There are two versions of the music video of "The Sign", edited in different ways with some different images. For example in video 1, it ends with Jenny standing in red dress before a ankh appears in fire. Video 2 ends with a black/white picture of all 4 members of Ace of Base before the ankh appears in fire.
"The Sign" has been widely interpreted as chronicling a woman's journey from a dysfunctional relationship to the convent. As reflected in the music video, she turns from the man to the light before her, having seen the sign that opened up her eyes and brought her into the "light where [she] belong[ed]."
Mathias Julin also directed music videos by Inner Circle: "Sweat" (1992) and "Games People Play" (1994).
Track listings
CD single – Australia- "The Sign" – 3:11
- "The Sign" (Long Version) – 4:43
CD single – Germany
- "The Sign" (The Remix) – 5:40
- "The Sign" (Ultimix) – 6:49
- "The Sign" (Dub Version) – 5:10
CD single – Japan
- "The Sign" – 3:11
- "Young And Proud" – 3:56
CD single – UK
- "The Sign" – 3:11
- "The Sign" (Long Version) – 4:43
- "The Sign" (Dub Version) – 5:10
CD single – U.S.
- "The Sign" (Ultimix) – 6:49
- "The Sign" – 3:11
- "Young And Proud" – 3:56
- "Happy Nation" (12" Version) – 6:40
CD maxi – France
- "The Sign" (Radio Edit) – 3:09
- "The Sign" (Long Version) – 4:43
- "The Sign" (Dub Version) – 5:10
7" single – France
- "The Sign" (Radio Edit) – 3:09
- "The Sign" (Long Version) – 4:43
Official versions
- Album Version
- Ultimix
- Dub Version
- Long Version
- The Remix
- Ultimix Remix
- Freedom Bunch Mix (2009)
On several of the bands compilation albums, an error occurred with "The Sign", cutting one second from the beginning.
Personnel
- Vocals by Linn Berggren, Jenny Berggren and Jonas Berggren
- Backing Vocals by Jenny Berggren, Linn Berggren, Jonas Berggren and Douglas Carr
- Written by Jonas Berggren
- Produced by Denniz Pop, Douglas Carr and Jonas Berggren
- Recorded at Cheiron Studios
Peak positions
| Chart (1993/94) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
3 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
3 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 5 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 4 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 2 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 5 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 23 |
| French Singles Chart | 17 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
End of decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Gold | February 21, 1994 | 15,000 |
| Germany | Platinum | 1994 | 500,000 |
| UK | Gold | April 1, 1994 | 400,000 |
| U.S. | Platinum | April 6, 1994 | 1,000,000 |