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.
Weakling
Swans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never escape
I'm under the bed
I'm licking the floor
I never dream
This isn't real
Not real [x2]
You know everything
You're touching my chest
When I'm touched I bleed
I never dream
This isn't real
Not real [x2]
The lyrics to Swans’ song Weakling speak of a deep sense of disconnection and turmoil. The singer describes a feeling of being trapped, unable to escape from their pain and unable to find relief from their suffering. They mention being under the bed, an image that evokes fear and a desire to hide away from the world. The line “I’m licking the floor” suggests that the singer is so lost and broken that they have lost touch with reality and are engaging in strange, self-destructive behaviors.
The lyrics continue to depict a feeling of being lost and overwhelmed. The singer mentions forgetting how to breathe and feeling as though they are being touched in a way that causes them to bleed. Both of these images suggest a profound level of emotional and physical pain. The repeated refrain “I never dream / This isn’t real / Not real” highlights the singer’s sense of disassociation from their own life and experiences. It’s as though they are living in a nightmare that they can’t escape from.
Overall, the lyrics to Weakling suggest a deep sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer seems to be struggling with mental health issues or trauma, and they are unable to find a way to break free from their suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't feel pain
I am numb to any physical or emotional pain
I never escape
I cannot break free from my current situation
I'm under the bed
I am hiding and scared
I'm licking the floor
I am in a degraded state, perhaps metaphorically licking up my own shame
I never dream
I cannot allow myself the luxury of hope or aspirations
This isn't real
My reality feels surreal or nightmarish
Not real [x2]
I repeat this to remind myself that what I am experiencing is not normal
You know everything
Another person has power or control over me
I forgot how to breathe
I am suffocating, perhaps literally or figuratively
You're touching my chest
The other person is violating me physically or emotionally
When I'm touched I bleed
The other person's actions hurt me deeply
I never dream
Once again, I cannot allow myself hope or aspirations
This isn't real
The sense of surreality and dread persists
Not real [x2]
I repeat this to remind myself that what I am experiencing is not normal
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MortonGoldthwait
"Once you free your mind about a concept of
Harmony and of music being correct
You can do whatever you want" -Giorgio Moroder
@adorno_gang37
my name is giovanni giorgio, but everybody calls me giorgio.
BEEP BOOP BOOP BOOP BEEP
@mindmy609
@adorno_gang hahaha the midnite express
@ericbryant2464
The chase
@kisawisa1769
Of all people
@jane1500
Whenever I have really bad anxiety I find myself saying 'this isn't real' in my head. Then i start to hear it in Michael Gira's voice, and then the anxiety gets worse, and then I laugh, and then the anxiety is gone. I am too young to have experienced this album live (probably my favourite Swans album) but that doesn't mean my life is not influenced and moved by it. This kind of abrasive music helps me align myself with the world. Long live SWANS.
@comu157
Some people love Swans, and some just have never worked in a goddamn factory.
@comu157
@Daniel Therman Oh shit man. How you doing now? I'm probably too far and too broke to do anything to help you out, but I hope you're keeping it together.
@linglingjr
"then I laugh and the anxiety is gone" how cute. It must be nice to be you.
@SinewRending
NOT. REAL.