Throughout the verses, a Yamaha TG77 synthesizer is used to create a reggae rhythm guitar sound. The melodic hook contains a synth flute, with a bass combining a Moog sub-bass and a Korg M1 bass. The song initially begins with the sounds of a hand clap, kick drum, and snare over a four bar beat, which was sampled from 'Shack Up' by American funk group Banbarra. According to the sheet music published at by Universal Music Publishing Group, the group's vocals span from the low note of A 3 to the high note of E 5. It follows a tempo of 97 beats per minute in common time. 'The Sign' is performed in the key of G major for the verses and chorus but in G minor for the intro and instrumental breaks. Jenny Berggren compared the lyrics to the 'road of life' metaphor, noting, 'You see signs in your life, and that's why you change direction.' He added that the lyrics are 'about thinking back on an old ', but are deliberately oblique to allow listeners to form their own meanings. During recording, Jonas Berggren added hums between the melody lines to become 'major and minor' with the chorus being 'mostly major', as he believed that the song was originally 'too merry'. The song's lyrics describe a couple contemplating the state of their relationship and deciding to split up as a result.

'The Sign' is a techno-reggae, Europop, and pop ballad. The song was recorded at a loud volume, which caused the producers Pop, Douglas Carr, and Jonas Berggren, to lower the sound by three decibels during audio mastering. He acknowledged that it 'was hard to sing' since there was no breathing time. In an interview with Idolator, Jonas Berggren stated that Jenny and Linn split the chorus into two parts, with the former singing the second and fourth parts. Jenny played around with the chords at the end and composed the harmonies around it. Ace of Base members Linn and Jenny Berggren re-arranged the song like they wanted to, so that it would become a duet between both women. 'The Sign' was recorded at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. In contrast to their 1992 single ' All That She Wants', Pop knew what he wanted to do with the song from the beginning. The demo only contained the song's instrumental, which Pop thought that the verse was the chorus. The head of Arista Records, Clive Davis, heard the song's demo, and in turn passed it to Swedish producers Douglas Carr and Denniz Pop, as he wanted something different from Happy Nation. 'The Sign' was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.ДЄce of Base originally released their debut studio album Happy Nation in 1992, which did not include 'The Sign', as it was intended to be for their next album. It also reached number one in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand, and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Consequently, the song was ranked as the number one song of 1994 on Billboard 's year-end chart. 'The Sign' topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six non-consecutive weeks in the United States, which allowed Ace of Base to become the first Swedish group to simultaneously have a number one song and album on the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 respectively. 'The Sign' is a techno-reggae, Europop, and pop ballad with lyrics describing a couple contemplating the state of their relationship. It was written by band member Jonas Berggren, who also produced the song with Denniz Pop and Douglas Carr. The song was released as a single in Europe on 1 November 1993, and in the US on 14 December 1993. ' The Sign' is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base from their North American studio album The Sign (1993), and their re-released debut studio album Happy Nation (1992), titled Happy Nation (U.S.

I saw the sign