Mother of the World
Swans Lyrics
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In and out and in and out again
And where are you now o Mother of the world?
Ah we feed from your hands
And we drink from your filth and your oil
So send them down
To scrape and suck the soil
In and out and in and out again
In and out and in and out again
Mother sun, mother of senseless things
Mother come, kill time as it begins
The song is called Mother of the World and it starts with the repetition of the phrase in and out, which is an expression of desire for something beyond what is present or known. It creates a cyclical rhythm that suggests uncertainty and repetition. This repetition of the phrase is then followed by a plea for the mother of the world, asking where she is. The mother is symbolic of nurturing and life-giving, but in this song, it is taken to a more negative aspect. The lyricist suggests that the mother has become toxic, as we feed off her filth and oil. This is the industrialization and consumerism that humanity has inflicted on the earth that has turned her into Mother Earth or Mother Nature.
Line by Line Meaning
In and out and in and out again
Life is a cycle of repeating patterns
In and out and in and out again
Life is a cycle of repeating patterns
And where are you now
We are searching for a higher power
O Mother of the world
Calling out to a mother figure for guidance
Ah we feed from your hands
We are dependent on the earth for survival
and we drink from your filth and your oil
We consume resources that come at a cost to the environment
So send them down
Asking for help from the heavens
to scrape and suck the soil
Asking for resources to be extracted from the earth
Keep us safe inside
Seeking shelter and protection from the outside world
your damp and rusty coil
Referring to the earth's crust as a protective layer
Mother sun
Giving thanks to the life-giving energy of the sun
Mother of senseless things
Mother nature is indifferent to human concerns
Mother come
Asking for guidance from mother nature
Kill time as it begins
Asking to be released from the constraints of time
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nowhereman4865
There's one thing Swans's music taught me. Patience.
@peepnox7747
Yep
@Divuar
this is a golden comment
@Gnix1996
Yep and ironically this is the song that taught me patience. In my bed, in the dark of my room, I allowed it to lure me in. The transition in the middle of the song with the breathing alone scared the poop out of me the first time I heard it.
@jeremykeithneill
One definitely needs an attention span. Luckily it is so interesting. Like a great movie, parts of it are difficult to sit through. Like real life, it is often disturbing and uncomfortable. It is not all pretty and uniform, it is a landscape of contrasts of harmony and discordance, profundity and silliness, beauty and ugliness, light-heartedness and darkness. Not always an easy listen by any measure, but good art challenges you in such ways. I think Gira is an artistic genius personally. If you aren't disturbed or even are at least slightly sometimes repulsed at first, by some aspects of someone's music, it's probably not that great. Great art is a challenge both to the creator and to the subject of it.That is how profound their music is, it has so many dimensions it is almost impossible to take all the nuance in at first glance.
@therodentestcat
i've only heard this album so far, but Swans seems to be one of the only bands that can actually give me chills
you did good, this is fucking rad
@suffermore1576
which album from them is your favorite
@lasernikixcx
@suffer more I'd say either Born This Way or Pink Friday
@pancakeslmao20
@LaserNikiXCX hell yeah man I love The Money Store
@Gnix1996
@Pancakes Lmao Dark Side of the Spoon is better.