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 βWhere Does A Body End?β.
In March 2021, Michael Gira released a tracklist of an upcoming Swans album, titled The Beggar. It was released on June 23, 2023.
Miracle of Love
Swans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I, I will follow, but I'll never fall in
Yeah, we'll suffer for nothing, and we'll never forgive
God said to no one to do what he did
One second in your presence is a miracle of love
One second denied is a miracle of love
The woman is strong in her warm-bitter lies
How will they hope what they can never percieve
And how do they love what they fail to decieve
One second in your memory is a miracle of lies
One heartbeat in your body is a miracle of love
White light on a black sky is a miracle from above
One lonely moment in your arms is a miracle of love
The Miracle of Love by Swans conveys a story about the complexities in love and how people play different roles in relationships. The first two lines of the song describe a scenario where the woman holds the key to a room that the man desires to access. It is clear that the man is deeply infatuated with the woman, but he is afraid to fall in love. The next line says that they will suffer for nothing and never forgive. The song suggests that the journey towards true love can be a painful and unforgiving one.
The song then proceeds to talk about the fleeting nature of love. It says that one second in someone's presence is a miracle of love, and one second denied is a miracle of love. The line "The young man is weakness in a lover's disguise, the woman is strong in her warm-bitter lies" implies that both individuals have their own insecurities and flaws, but they still try to navigate through their relationship. Despite the challenges they face, the song suggests that love is still a miracle worth experiencing.
Overall, The Miracle of Love by Swans is a profound and thought-provoking song that delves into the complexities of human emotions. It highlights the pain and challenges that come with love, but also emphasizes the beauty and miracle of love that can be experienced through just a momentary interaction.
Line by Line Meaning
She holds a key to the room down there
She has the secret to a dark place
And I, I will follow, but I'll never fall in
I will follow her, but I won't get trapped
Yeah, we'll suffer for nothing, and we'll never forgive
We will face hardships for no reason and hold grudges
God said to no one to do what he did
God did a unique act with no instructions for anyone else to follow
One second in your presence is a miracle of love
Being with you for even a short moment feels miraculous because of our love
One second denied is a miracle of love
Not being able to be with you for a moment feels like a miraculous experience, even though it's denied
The young man is weakness in a lover's disguise
The young man is pretending to be strong, but he's really weak because of love
The woman is strong in her warm-bitter lies
The woman is deceptive with her warm yet hurtful lies, but she's still strong
How will they hope what they can never perceive
How can they have hope for something they can't understand or see?
And how do they love what they fail to deceive
How can they love something when they can't successfully trick or manipulate it?
One second in your memory is a miracle of lies
Even a brief moment in your memory feels like a lie because of our relationship
One heartbeat in your body is a miracle of love
For as long as my heart beats inside you, it's a miraculous expression of our love
White light on a black sky is a miracle from above
A beam of light in a dark sky feels miraculous, like a gift from a higher power
One lonely moment in your arms is a miracle of love
Even the loneliest moment spent in your embrace is still a miraculous aspect of our love
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL ROLFE GIRA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nicholas Kinsey
She holds a key to the room down there
And I, I will follow, but I'll never fall in
Yeah, we'll suffer for nothing and we'll never forgive
God said to no one to do what he did
One second in your presence is a miracle of love
One second denied is a miracle of love
The young man is weakness in a lover's disguise
The woman is strong in her warm, bitter lies
How will they hope what they can never perceive
And how do they love what they fail to deceive
One second in your memory is a miracle of lies
One heartbeat in your body is a miracle of love
White light on a black sky is a miracle from above
One lonely moment in your arms is a miracle of love
Tom Schult
She holds a key to the room
Down there
And I
I will follow
But I will never fall in
Yeah well suffer
Suffer for. Irving
But we'll never forgive
Ine second in your presence is
A miracle
The young man
Is weakness in a luvers
Disguise
The woman is strong in
Her warm hed of lies
Hiw will they hold what
They will never perceive
And how do they live
What thw uh fail to deceive
One second iny our memory
Is a mitavwl of lies
One heatybeate in your body
Is a miracle of live
White lie on a black sky
Oa a miatackw form abovw.
One little mkmebr on tour arm
Is the miracle of live
Mhhm
Aha
Mhhmmm
Aha
UntitledKirk
LEGENDARY ALBUM, LEGENDARY SONG, LEGENDARY BAND. Gira and company are a miracle to music lovers.
Sachet Dhar
People are missing out on this beautiful masterpiece.
Renaud Contini
Man, I have been thinking this for so long. Such a shame.
Nowhy
Tzz people, who cares what people think?
johan bauwens
In 1991 it was all techno and grunge
Kristee Cargile
An Absolute Masterpiece
Saray Norbert
Right people get it. That matters.
alan nair
One moment of Swans' music is a miracle of truth
Chairs missing
I read it in song.
Kim Whitehurst
hard to explain until you know. It's a miracle that you know of SWANS existed.
30 yrs ago next year, that is how old this miracle of music is!!