The name originates in the idea that everyone has an alter-ego made up of the most negative aspects of their personality and the only way to prevent the angry doppelgänger from surfacing in polite company is to vent through music.
Gillespie is the name of the bands alter-ego (mainly because of the mischievous way it rolls off the tongue). The lyrics are his mind, the bass is his foot, the guitar is his hand and the drum his heart.
Blue Gillespie is meant for people who recognise a "Gillespie" in themselves. The angry voice inside, spitting and cursing at a world which seems never to offer a foothold as leverage to enlightenment. The desperate blue voice that has no ear in everyday social surroundings.
By purging their alter-egos through the music, listeners hopefully may feel closer to the more positive, optimistic aspects of their nature.
The Swamp
Blue Gillespie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I keel and squat in foot long thrusts
Toward the only place I feel no shame,
Or bidden by the buzzing stare
That cuts across the surface of the stagnant swamp.
Here three days no sun or rain
Breaks the mists that cling to my face.
Just constant ghosts in seas of brown.
My pace is tugged with desperate will
And a scream pukes from my lungs.
I wrench apart the vine and root
That keeps me from the comfort sounds
Of falling rain and leaves and the warmth of steely sun.
I find, dismayed, the tortured land,
Of burning bone and sea of flesh,
Echoing my former home.
Obliteration of stubborn hope forgotten
Nothing saved of savaged love,
Of life depraved.
I close my eyes, fall away.
Fall back into the swamp,
To sleep, to dream and forget
To float back to the start where I woke
In the turgid muck again.
To start my trudge again.
Keep me from peeling,
stop me revealing
Keep me relieving,
only deceiving.
Keep me from peeling,
only revealing
Filthy relieving,
don't be deceiving.
Lie still...
The lyrics of Blue Gillespie's song The Swamp offer a vivid and gruesome image of a person stuck and sinking in a swamp, struggling to find the only place where they feel no shame, while being watched by a hostile and buzzing stare. The singer of the song seems resigned to their fate, with no hope for rescue or escape, and no will to either speed up or to drown in despair. The ghosts that haunt them in the brown sea seem to be memories of a former life, a life of love that has been savagely destroyed and obliterated.
The singer appears to be trying to escape the swamp, possibly by crawling and wading through it, and the effort seems to be physically and emotionally draining. They scream in frustration and pain, and they wrench apart the vines and roots that obstruct their way, only to find a vista of destruction and despair. The imagery of burning bone and sea of flesh suggests a battlefield or a site of mass violence, where life has been replaced by death and hope has been extinguished. The singer, unable to escape or find solace, closes their eyes and falls back into the swamp, where they can dream and forget, but will wake up to the same turgid muck and trudge again.
The lyrics of The Swamp are rich in sensory details, from the turgid muck and the foot-long thrusts, to the buzzing stare and the mist that clings to the face. They also use a range of figurative language, such as the constant ghosts in seas of brown, the wrenching apart of vine and root, and the sleep that is a form of escape. The song seems to be exploring themes of isolation, trauma, and despair, as well as a longing for a place of comfort, however illusory or unreachable. The lyrics suggest that the swamp is not only a physical place but also a psychological state, where the singer is trapped and floating, unable to find a way out.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunk in the turgid muck
I am completely stuck in the muddy swamp water and unable to move.
I keel and squat in foot long thrusts
I struggle to move forward by pushing with my legs in small, slow movements.
Toward the only place I feel no shame
I am trying to reach a place where I can be free of the shame or guilt that I feel.
Or bidden by the buzzing stare
I am not influenced by the constant noise and distractions around me.
That cuts across the surface of the stagnant swamp.
The sound and movement of the insects on the water's surface is overpowering and continuous.
Here three days no sun or rain
It has been three days since I have seen the sun or had any rainfall.
Breaks the mists that cling to my face.
The thick and heavy fog that surrounds me is so dense that it sticks to my face.
No will to speed up or despair to drown,
I have no motivation to move any faster, nor do I want to give up and drown in the swamp.
Just constant ghosts in seas of brown.
All I see around me are the shadows and reflections of things that are not really there in the murky water.
My pace is tugged with desperate will
I push forward with all the strength I have, despite feeling hopeless.
And a scream pukes from my lungs.
I can't help but let out a loud and desperate scream from the depths of my soul.
I wrench apart the vine and root
I grab hold of the plants that are blocking my path and pull with all my might to break through.
That keeps me from the comfort sounds
I know that beyond the barrier lies the familiar and peaceful sounds of nature that I long for.
Of falling rain and leaves and the warmth of steely sun.
I miss the comforting sounds and sensations of the natural world beyond the swamp.
I find, dismayed, the tortured land,
I finally make it past the vines and roots, only to find a horrible and painful landscape.
Of burning bone and sea of flesh,
Everything around me is a horrifying wasteland of death and destruction.
Echoing my former home.
The landscape reminds me of the terrible things I have experienced before.
Obliteration of stubborn hope forgotten
All hope is gone and there is nothing left to cling to.
Nothing saved of savaged love,
Even the things that once brought me joy or love have been destroyed.
Of life depraved.
The entire world around me seems twisted and corrupted.
I close my eyes, fall away.
I give up and let myself sink into the muck of the swamp.
Fall back into the swamp,
I return to the place where I began, feeling defeated and hopeless.
To sleep, to dream and forget
I fall asleep and hope that my dreams will let me forget the pain and suffering of my reality.
To float back to the start where I woke
In my dreams, I return to the beginning of my journey through the swamp.
In the turgid muck again.
I am stuck in the same place, unable to move forward or escape the swamp.
Keep me from peeling,
Please protect me from physical harm.
stop me revealing
Don't let me share my deepest emotions or thoughts.
Keep me relieving,
Help me find relief from my pain and suffering.
only deceiving.
But protect me from those who may deceive or harm me.
Keep me from peeling,
Please protect me from harm that may come to me.
only revealing
But allow me to open up and be honest about my feelings and experiences.
Filthy relieving,
Finding relief may come at the cost of feeling dirty or ashamed.
don't be deceiving.
I hope that I can trust that my relief will come from honest and true sources.
Lie still...
Finally, I find some peace and stillness, but it may not last.
Contributed by Anna D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BlueAsari Lavellan
I love this so much 💙🐺
dogspit
It really bugs me that this still isn't on spotify 😕
River {like the water}
Solas?
who
yes!