King Swamp was the brainchild of ex - Shriekback members Dave Allen (bassi… Read Full Bio ↴King Swamp was the brainchild of ex - Shriekback members Dave Allen (bassist) and Steve Halliwell (keyboardist). Looking for something that would take away the complacency of the British music scene in late 80's, King Swamp would form.
Allen and Halliwell spent time in the USA with extended stays in New York and Louisiana in 1987. These stays led to a new vision of rock and roll. Soon they brought on Martyn Barker, another ex-Shrieker, to play drums and Dominic Miller to play guitar. Miller had spent time in the band World Party (and now is with Sting.). To round out the band, they recruited Walter Wray to be their lead singer.

Shortly after King Swamp's self-titled album release in May 1989, the press had much to say- Music Week called the album "a throbbing blast of molten rock from a band with London sass" ; Sounds noted that the album had "startling gravity....towering and volatile, and alive with primal energy"; and RAW judged it as "a blistering, caustic rock 'n' roll album.....King Swamp swathe into the jungle with the arrogance and certanty of missionaries" .

King Swamp's first single, "Is This Love?", reached number 21 on Billboard's Album Rock chart.
The band released two albums and nine singles & promo Cds before disbanding in 1991.

Wray later produced a solo album with Dominic Miller in 1993, who later went on to play with Sting.

King Swamp's albums:

King Swamp - self titled debut album
released in 1989
Tracks:
Is This Love?
Blown Away
Man Behind The Gun
Original Man
Widders Dump
Year Zero
The Mirror
Motherlode
Louisiana Bride
The Sacrament

Wiseblood - the second album
released in 1990
Tracks:
Wiseblood
One Step Over The Line
Floating World
Walk The Knife
Can't Be Satisfied
Nightfall Over Eden
Walk On Gilded Splinters
Some Kind Of Love
Kiss The Sun
Wiseblood (original mix)

The Mirror
King Swamp Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

This is the story of an American hero,
Born in the ghetto in poverty,
Taken in by the white man, cleaned up, given a home,
Became the salvation of every modern mother's son.

Worked in a factory, worked on the land,
Steel work and dust bowl dirt staining his hand,
Shot down in Memphis, Iwo Jima made me a man,

Now I gotta look in some comic book,
Just to find out who I am.

IT HURTS,
CAN'T YOU SEE ME BLEED.
IT HURTS,
CAN'T YOU FEEL THE NEED,
THESE FLOWERS OF EVIL
AND THESE GODS WITHOUT GRACE,
YOU TOOK THE MIRROR,
NOW YOU'RE PUSHING IT IN MY FACE.

It's the American way into the twenty first century,
It rides a motorbike alone down the interstate,
It wears dark glasses and dates thin girls,
Uses strong arm tactics all around the world,
It's the noble savage at the edge of the forest
With Oedipus eyes and Icarus wings,
It's a Soul Train coming, it's savage and keen,
And it's spitting Coca-Cola from the barrel of an M16.

IT HURTS,
CAN'T YOU SEE ME BLEED.
IT HURTS,
CAN'T YOU FEEL THE NEED,
THESE FLOWERS OF EVIL
AND THESE GODS WITHOUT GRACE,

YOU TOOK THE MIRROR,
NOW YOU'RE PUSHING IT IN MY FACE

Overall Meaning

The song "The Mirror" by King Swamp seems to offer a powerful commentary on America's cultural identity and its violent history. The opening lines offer a glimpse into the life of an American hero, someone who was born in poverty on the streets but was taken in by the white man, given a home, and became a symbol of hope for other young men. At the same time, the lyrics offer a stark portrayal of the harsh realities of working-class life, with references to factory work and steelworking, as well as violence, as the singer is shot down in Memphis and later serves in Iwo Jima.

The song's chorus offers a stark contrast to the hopeful images of the verses, with the repeated phrase "It hurts, can't you see me bleed?" seeming to represent the pain and suffering that still exists in America today. The flowers of evil and gods without grace that the singer seems to encounter in the postmodern world reflect the darker side of American culture, including its fascination with violence and power. Finally, the line "You took the mirror, now you're pushing it in my face" seems to suggest that America, as a culture, has lost sight of its own identity, and is now forcing its own reflection onto its citizens in often violent and oppressive ways.

Overall, "The Mirror" represents a powerful and moving commentary on America's culture and history, offering a reminder of the many struggles and challenges that still face the nation today.

Line by Line Meaning

This is the story of an American hero,
The tale of a hero born in the challenging circumstances of poverty in America.

Born in the ghetto in poverty,
The hero was born in a deprived neighborhood with little resources.

Taken in by the white man, cleaned up, given a home,
He was rescued by a white man who provided him with a cleaner and safer place to live in.

Became the salvation of every modern mother's son.
The hero became the savior and a role model for every modern child.

Worked in a factory, worked on the land,
The hero worked in a factory and also did labor work on the farmland.

Steel work and dust bowl dirt staining his hand,
His job involved manual work that resulted in the dirt and stains on his hands.

Shot down in Memphis, Iwo Jima made me a man,
He got shot in Memphis and then went to fight in the war in Iwo Jima, which made him a man.

Now I gotta look in some comic book,
After all the experiences, the hero finds himself searching for answers in a comic book.

Just to find out who I am.
He is searching for his identity through the comic book.

IT HURTS,
The hero is expressing pain in this line.

CAN'T YOU SEE ME BLEED.
He wants others to notice that he is in physical pain.

CAN'T YOU FEEL THE NEED,
He wants others to understand and empathize with his emotional pain and desperation.

THESE FLOWERS OF EVIL
The hero is referring to all the negative aspects of society such as crime and corruption.

AND THESE GODS WITHOUT GRACE,
He is talking about those who are powerful but lack compassion and morality.

YOU TOOK THE MIRROR,
The hero is accusing someone of taking his mirror.

NOW YOU'RE PUSHING IT IN MY FACE.
The person is rubbing the absence of the mirror in his face, which is causing him pain.

It's the American way into the twenty first century,
This line is referring to the American culture and values that continue till the present.

It rides a motorbike alone down the interstate,
This is an example of the American way of life portrayed through the image of a person riding a motorbike alone down an open road.

It wears dark glasses and dates thin girls,
The image depicts a stereotype of an average American guy, wearing sunglasses and dating thin girls.

Uses strong arm tactics all around the world,
This line refers to the powerful, often violent, ways that America projects its authority across the world.

It's the noble savage at the edge of the forest
The phrase refers to America's exploitation of natural resources, and the tension between using them and preserving them.

With Oedipus eyes and Icarus wings,
The line refers to the classic tales of Oedipus and Icarus, expressing the duality of America's aspirations and conflicts.

It's a Soul Train coming, it's savage and keen,
The image depicts a train, used in the past to transport goods and people, as it makes its way through America's landscape.

And it's spitting Coca-Cola from the barrel of an M16.
This line refers to the notion that America makes its way forward sometimes by force, sometimes through soft power - symbolized by Coca-Cola - and sometimes simultaneously through both methods.

Contributed by Jayce G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS