Swans is a American experimental rock band from New York, United States, ac… Read Full Bio ↴Swans is a American experimental rock band from New York, United States, active from 1982 to 1997, reformed in 2010, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira.

Marginally associated with the no wave scene at first, their original sound was slow and extremely heavy, with live performances that were often so brutal and physical that in a number of instances certain audience members were made ill, police were called and venues were shut down. This early physical sound is possibly best heard on the live album Public Castration Is A Good idea.

Their initial style shifted a little by the time Swans released seminal twin albums Greed and Holy Money. The music had sped up, at times being even more punishing than their earlier output. Drum machines and samples were slightly more prominent. Michael Gira was joined vocally by Jarboe which gave the band a broader sonic range. Tracks featuring Jarboe were often quieter, even pretty, acting as counterpoint to the more harrowing themes on the albums. Over time, this style would come to dominate Swans' output, although they somehow seem to have been able to make a strummed acoustic guitar seem as brutal as their earlier amped-up assaults. The lush instrumentation of their albums from the late 1980s and the 1990's anticipated the birth of post-rock.

Swans eventually broke up in 1997; Gira went on to release some solo work, later forming the band The Angels Of Light, who continue many of the themes and styles found in (later) Swans. Jarboe releases solo work and frequently works with other bands and artists; recently she released an album with Neurosis, a group clearly heavily influenced by Swans.

The influence of Swans upon the music world is profound. Across their 15 years of existence, the various styles they explored gave birth to grindcore (Napalm Death, Nasum) modern "cinematic" post-rock (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono), and atmospheric sludge metal (Isis, Neurosis).

In January 2010, Michael Gira reactivated Swans and released a new album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky on September 2010, and the band simultaneously embarked on a world tour scheduled to last eighteen months. The band had been chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festivals that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace and in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

On August 28, 2012, Swans released The Seer, a double-album running almost 2 hours in length. Frontman Michael Gira described the album as taking "30 years to make. It's the culmination of every previous Swans album as well as any other music I've ever made, been involved in or imagined. But it's unfinished, like the songs themselves. It's one frame in a reel. The frames blur, blend and will eventually fade." Describing the songwriting process, Gira said, "The songs began on an acoustic guitar, then were fleshed out with (invaluable) help from my friends, then were further tortured and seduced in the studio, and now they await further cannibalism and force-feeding as we prepare to perform some of them live, at which point they'll mutate further, endlessly, or perhaps be discarded for a while."

On May 12, 2014, Swans released their thirteenth LP, To Be Kind. Produced by Michael Gira and recorded by John Congleton. It received positive reception from critics which made the group continue to make more albums that have also have received positive reviews.

It was announced on July 22, 2015, that the band was releasing their fourteenth studio album, titled The Glowing Man. The album was released on June 17, 2016.

After The Glowing Man released, the band took a hiatus lasting nearly a year in 2017 and ending in 2018. The band released their fifteenth studio LP Leaving Meaning the next year. The same year, a documentary about Swans was released titled “Where Does A Body End?”.

In March 2021, Michael Gira released a tracklist of an upcoming Swans album, titled The Beggar. It was released on June 23, 2023.

Cry Me A River
Swans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now you say you're lonely
You cry the long night through
Well you can cry me a river
Cry me a river
I cried a river over you

Now you say you're sorry
For being so untrue

Well you can cry me a river
Cry me a river
I cried a river over you

You drove me
Nearly drove me
Out of my head
While you never shed a tear
Remember
I remember all that you said
Told me
Love was too Plebeian
Told me you we're through with me and

Now you say you love me
Well just to prove you do
Come on and cry me a river
Cry me a river
I cried a river over you
Now you say you love me
Well just to prove you do
Come on and cry me a river
Cry me a river

I cried a river
Over you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Swans’s song “Cry Me a River” suggest a sense of betrayal and the aftermath of a failed relationship. The singer begins by addressing their former lover, who is now alone and crying. They respond by telling their ex to cry them a river, implying that they, too, have experienced that kind of pain. The singer goes on to say that they cried a river over their ex-lover, suggesting that they have already gone through that kind of emotional torment.

The next stanza indicates that the ex-lover is expressing remorse for their actions, admitting that they were untrue. Again, the singer responds by telling them to cry a river, suggesting that their apologies are too little, too late. The third stanza shifts the focus to the experience of the singer. The ex-lover’s behavior drove them to the brink of madness, yet they never shed a tear during the breakup. The singer remembers everything that was said and how their ex dismissed their love as “too plebeian” and ended the relationship.

The final stanza begins with the ex-lover pleading their love for the singer, but the singer is skeptical. They challenge their ex to prove their sincerity by crying a river for them, as the singer had done after the breakup. Overall, “Cry Me a River” is a haunting, emotional song that captures the pain of a relationship gone wrong.

Line by Line Meaning

Now you say you're lonely
You claim to be lonely now

You cry the long night through
You cry for hours and hours at night

Well you can cry me a river
You can cry as much as you want, but it doesn't matter to me

Cry me a river
Go ahead and cry, it won't change anything

I cried a river over you
I was heartbroken over you and cried a lot

Now you say you're sorry
You are apologizing now

For being so untrue
For being dishonest and disloyal

You drove me
You pushed me

Nearly drove me
Almost pushed me

Out of my head
To the point of madness

While you never shed a tear
But you never showed any emotion or remorse