1. indie rock supergrou… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist called Swan Lake.
1. indie rock supergroup comprised of Dan Bejar (Destroyer, The New Pornographers), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes, Republic of Freedom Fighters, Breakwater, Blackout Beach). They released their debut album, Beast Moans, in both the CD and LP formats on Jagjaguwar on November 21, 2006.
The three are all old friends and have been collaborating in one way or another for years. Mercer and Krug's connection goes back the furthest, as Krug has always been an on-again, off-again member of Mercer's Frog Eyes, appearing on record with him as far back as the band's 2002 debut, The Bloody Hand. The two are also former roommates.
When Bejar was putting a band together to flesh out his midi-based Destroyer album Your Blues, he picked Frog Eyes as his backing band, and also took them on the road as his opening act. They recorded an EP together - Notorious Lightning and Other Works - with new versions of songs from Your Blues. For the European tour promoting Your Blues, Mercer and Krug were his band, and thus the seed was planted for Swan Lake to form; i.e., why not make this a real band and collaborate not just in a live setting but also in the process of songwriting? Before they chose a band name, Mercer would often refer to the new project as "The Songwriters Project".
Beast Moans was recorded in a summer cottage town in Canada, and in Victoria, in a house that Krug and Mercer are familiar with and Bejar feels comfortable enough with. It was "self-produced". "Beast Moans" is a testament to friendship, eternal and otherwise.
2. A Todd Terry pseudonym. Terry also used several other aliases such as Orange Lemon, Royal House, and Black Riot. He has also recorded as CLS, Masters at Work (with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez & "Little" Louie Vega), Dredd Stock, House of Gypsies, Limelife, Hardhouse, Tyme Forse, and the Gypsymen (where under that alias, scored a number-one Billboard Hot Dance/Club play hit in 1992 with "Hear the Music").
Peace
Swan Lake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No peace (no peace)
No friends coming back from Greece
No bombs to ensure there's a ceasefire cease
And no cascades
No savage detectives to evade
And you will never see the alligator's glade
Where Agamemnon drowned the violent night shade
Peace
No peace
No crystal cathedral to lease
No no dancing in the basement must immediately cease
By the order, by the order of the Grand Diocese
And the important event to behold (to behold)
Is when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
And the important event to behold (to behold)
Is when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
Oh when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
We gonna purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
No peace (no peace)
No peace (no peace)
'Cause you will never fear the alligator's teeth
And you will never have protection from the drunken police
The dancing in the basement oh darling must cease
And the important event to behold (to behold)
Is when we purge the terror in your bones (the terror in your bones)
And the important event to behold (to behold)
Is when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
We gonna purge the terror in your bones (the terror in your bones)
We gonna purge the fear in your bones (the terror in your bones)
We gonna purge the fear in your bones (the terror in your bones)
We gonna purge the fear in your bones (the terror in your bones)
Oh-oh-oh no suicide
Oh-oh-oh (no suicide)
(No suicide) [repeated until the end]
Hold on to the edge no suicide
Hold on to the edge no suicide
Hold on to the edge no suicide
No suicide, hold on to the edge no suicide
No suicide, hold on to the edge no suicide
As a sailor sails on sin
As a sailor sips his vodka and his gin
As a sailor sails on sin
As a sailor drinks his vodka and gin
The song "Peace" by Swan Lake presents a stark juxtaposition between the desire for peace and the absence of it. The chorus of the song features the repeated phrases "Peace (peace), no peace (no peace)," indicating a longing for a cessation of violence and conflict, but an acknowledgement that it is not currently present. The lyrics go on to describe specific types of peace that are absent: friends not returning from Greece, no bombs ceasing violence, no crystal cathedral to lease. The lyrics also reference violence through phrases like "purge the terror in your bones," and "protection from the drunken police."
The song contains a number of surreal images and references, such as "the alligator's glade," "Agamemnon drowning the violent nightshade," and "dancing in the basement must immediately cease / by the order of the Grand Diocese." These strange phrases contribute to the overall sense of unease and restlessness in the song, as if the world is out of joint and everything is just slightly off-kilter.
Overall, "Peace" seems to be a comment on the human desire for a world without violence or fear, and the frustration that comes when that cannot be achieved. The song acknowledges that there are still things worth holding onto, even in the absence of peace (the repeated phrase "hold on to the edge no suicide" at the end of the song), but it is also a stark reminder of how far we still have to go before we can truly achieve peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Peace (peace)
We strive for peace
No peace (no peace)
We lack peace
No friends coming back from Greece
We have lost people we care about and can't bring them back
No bombs to ensure there's a ceasefire cease
We lack the tools necessary to achieve peace
And no cascades
We lack beauty and elegance
No savage detectives to evade
We are left unprotected and without defense against danger
And you will never see the alligator's glade, where Agamemnon drowned the violent night shade
We cannot experience a peaceful, beautiful environment because it has been tarnished by violence
No crystal cathedral to lease
We lack a symbol of purity and holiness
No dancing in the basement must immediately cease, by the order, by the order of the Grand Diocese
Even in private spaces and expressions of joy, we are restricted by the rules of higher powers
And the important event to behold (to behold), is when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
The most vital thing to witness is when we eradicate fear that is deeply ingrained in our spirits
We gonna purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones), Oh when we purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones), We gonna purge the terror in your bones (terror in your bones)
Our goal is to completely remove the fear that is causing us pain and anxiety
Cause you will never fear the alligator's teeth, and you will never have protection from the drunken police, the dancing in the basement oh darling must cease
We lack a sense of physical and emotional security, even in places where we should feel safe
Oh-oh-oh no suicide
We must fight against despair and hopelessness
Hold on to the edge no suicide
We must cling to life and hold on through challenging times
As a sailor sails on sin, as a sailor sips his vodka and his gin
We all have vices that we must navigate as we go through life
(No suicide) [repeated until the end]
We must keep fighting and hold on to hope
Contributed by Samantha V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.