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 โWhere Does A Body End?โ.
In March 2021, Michael Gira released a tracklist of an upcoming Swans album, titled The Beggar. It was released on June 23, 2023.
I Am The Sun
Swans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I rise above the world
And when the light goes out
I kill another child
And I am insane
I crawl into your mouth
I grow like a flower
I grow a suicide
And I am the light
And I am the sun
Yeah I am the light
And I am the dog
I cut out my eyes
Yeah I will nullify
My true love creation
And I am the sun
I love everyone
I live inside your chest
I grow like a cancer
And I am the sun
And I am the light
Yeah I am the sun
Yeah I am the light
I love everyone
I love everyone
The lyrics to Swansโ song โI Am the Sunโ are strikingly intense as they describe various aspects of the singerโs identity. The singer begins by declaring that they are the sun and claim to rise above the world. This could be interpreted as indicating that the singer is someone of great power and influence or perhaps even a divine entity. However, the singer also reveals a dark side to their power by saying that they โkill another childโ when the light goes out, suggesting that their power comes at a cost and has destructive consequences.
The singer then goes on to declare their insanity and their ability to crawl into someone's mouth like a parasitic entity. They compare themselves to a flower that grows a suicide, indicating that their influence can bring about self-destruction. The image of a flower growing a suicide is potent and suggests that the singer has the power to shape and influence people's lives in a profound and potentially destructive way.
The singer continues to describe themselves as both the light and the dog, claiming to have cut out their eyes and nullified their true love creation. These lines suggest that the singer has engaged in some intense self-harm and is deeply unhappy in their current state. They describe themselves as living inside people's chests and growing like cancer, suggesting that they are a malignant force that consumes and destroys gradually.
Overall, the lyrics to โI Am the Sunโ are complex and layered, full of vivid imagery and surrealistic descriptions that create a sense of unease and discomfort in the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
And I am the sun
I am the powerful center around which everything revolves
I rise above the world
I am above everything else and my influence can be felt by all
And when the light goes out
I kill another child
When my influence wanes, I destroy and consume those who are helpless and vulnerable
And I am insane
I cannot be fully understood or controlled, my power is all-consuming and chaotic
I crawl into your mouth
My influence can take hold of individuals, consuming and changing them from the inside out
I grow like a flower
I grow a suicide
My power can both create and destroy, fostering both life and death within the same organism
And I am the light
Yeah I am the sun
My power is all-encompassing, shining a light on everything and everyone
And I am the dog
I cut out my eyes
Yeah I will nullify
My true love creation
I am willing to destroy myself and everything I create rather than be held back by love or morality
I love everyone
I live inside your chest
I grow like a cancer
I am a force of inexorable, all-consuming power that can live within anyone and grow out of control
I love everyone
I love everyone
My influence is pervasive, it extends to all and everything, and I do not discriminate when it comes to my power
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jamesguillorytheirascibleh585
Every Swans album (with the exception of Leaving Meaning) is a perfect masterpiece. Their discography stands among the greats of history. The Beatles, The Velvet Underground (Squeeze doesnโt count), Sonic Youth, Captain Beefheart, Coil, The Smiths, etc. Their cover of that song is superior to the original as far as Iโm concerned; as well as Swans being far superior to Joy Division (A band I like, fyi).
The Burning World is a hauntingly melancholic work that possibly pioneered gothic country. Easily one of the greatest albums ever for its gorgeous arrangements; its world music influences and dark americana contributing to its themes of universality. Itโs simply timeless.
White Light from the Mouth of Infinity is, like Children of God, a pioneering record of post-rock. Literally no flaws in its ineffable textures and shimmering songwriting. Swans have never made a bad, mediocre, or even merely โgoodโ song. All of them are masterfully crafted.
Love of Life is also a masterpiece. Maybe not a true step forward at the time of its release, but I view it as the comedown record after the grand avant-rock theatrics of its predecessor. There are moments of levity in its songs, which is one thing that separates itself from the rest.
Theyโre all great. No exceptions. Even Leaving Meaning is masterful. Itโs as close to flawed as Swans will ever get. Itโs a 9/10 for me; a flawed masterpiece. Itโs cool that youโve been following the band for all of these decades. And maybe if I existed in the 80โs, Iโd be sharing your opinions. Context always matters. But within my context, the discography of Swans is flawless.
@deadvex
i love this fucking song. its hard to describe how this makes me feel. its a prism that only i can feel. my best friend whom died a few years ago turned me onto the swans. we had a band and we both were singers. he sounded alot like this. but on the other side.. it reminds me of times before i heard this song, if that makes sense. its a strange sensation to hear something in the future you feel like youve heard in the past but know you havent. probably just talking to myself at this point, but whats new.....
@ericbryant6097
non linear relativity I can relate
@user-fs1lc2cj5s
That's trippy af man. Maybe you'll reunite once again and jam together
@personwhoexists8684
no wow i know this exact feelingโฆ i had this exact same thing happen when i first heard Siberian breaks by Mgmt cuz my best friend loved them (and i got into them actually shortly after meeting him, but before finding out he loved this band). after his death yeah listening to that song, it literally had me doin some mf time traveling. so weird what certain sounds all arranged together can do to the brain
@saraivatoledo1842
I assume most people in here were not into Swans in the 80s - but for those who were , Iยดm almost willing to bet that the majority would say that this was the record which revived their interest in the band
When they released " Children of God " I thought ( and still do btw ) that they had reached their creative peak - what an incredible record that was .
After that I can recall listening to confused/confusing polished acoustic songs which meant nth to me at the time , unrecognizable as the band I was used to . Pinnacle of my disgust was seeing a video on MTV with them doing an awful cover of " Love will tear us apart " with Michael Gira looking like Kurt Cobain before I even knew who Kurt Cobain was , which at the time felt as if the band were trying to compete with R.E.M. in the charts - keep in mind " Love will tear us apart " was one of the most overplayed songs of the 80s - doing a cover of that was just either very " bad taste " or attempting to sell records to the kids who didnยดt know who Joy Division were - more importantly the song sounded vile . " How to butcher a classic " basically .
Right after this , the next couple of albums sounded just as uninspired and hollow to me at the time . These days , the sequence/ context all 3 presented themselves to me being absent , I actually find myself enjoying " The burning world " ; " White light ... " and " Love of life " ) .
I did not give up though , and when this came out I blindly purchased a copy ( previews were not a easy commodity back then ) , and glad I did not , cause , in hindsight I understand how people do not sense much difference these days , but , 1st time I listened to this album in its entirety , I knew Swans were back , this was the album which should had came after " Children of God " ... rest is history as they say .
P.S . I once saw Jarboe ( 1st time seeing her solo ) , sometime in the early/mid 00s ( when Paz Lenchantin from the Pixies etc , was the bassist / violinist etc in that incarnation of the band ) and the last song she played was off of this album : " This one is for Michael " : " Mother/Father " ( one of my favourite moments on the album btw ) .
@jamesguillorytheirascibleh585
Every Swans album (with the exception of Leaving Meaning) is a perfect masterpiece. Their discography stands among the greats of history. The Beatles, The Velvet Underground (Squeeze doesnโt count), Sonic Youth, Captain Beefheart, Coil, The Smiths, etc. Their cover of that song is superior to the original as far as Iโm concerned; as well as Swans being far superior to Joy Division (A band I like, fyi).
The Burning World is a hauntingly melancholic work that possibly pioneered gothic country. Easily one of the greatest albums ever for its gorgeous arrangements; its world music influences and dark americana contributing to its themes of universality. Itโs simply timeless.
White Light from the Mouth of Infinity is, like Children of God, a pioneering record of post-rock. Literally no flaws in its ineffable textures and shimmering songwriting. Swans have never made a bad, mediocre, or even merely โgoodโ song. All of them are masterfully crafted.
Love of Life is also a masterpiece. Maybe not a true step forward at the time of its release, but I view it as the comedown record after the grand avant-rock theatrics of its predecessor. There are moments of levity in its songs, which is one thing that separates itself from the rest.
Theyโre all great. No exceptions. Even Leaving Meaning is masterful. Itโs as close to flawed as Swans will ever get. Itโs a 9/10 for me; a flawed masterpiece. Itโs cool that youโve been following the band for all of these decades. And maybe if I existed in the 80โs, Iโd be sharing your opinions. Context always matters. But within my context, the discography of Swans is flawless.
@andresaguero5880
It really was like that? Personally, I think White Light From The Mouth of Infinity is their best.
@andresaguero5880
@James Guillory, The Irascible Humanslayer Beautifully said mate, what a great band, the best of all tme in my opinion. Cheers!
@wispycirrus9907
They did a great job on this remastering. These drums are so fucking punchy, it's insane.
@vincebelanger361
This album is fucking perfect. I don't know how they did it.