Originally, the Australian band was called The Boys Next Door, comprising Cave, Howard, Mick Harvey (guitar, drums, organ, piano), bassist Tracy Pew, and drummer Phill Calvert. After the Door Door album and Hee Haw EP under that name, the band moved to London and switched its name to the deceptively benign Birthday Party. Once they arrived in Britain, their demented, knotty post-punk began to gel. They released their first international album, Prayers On Fire, in 1981, earning critical praise in the U.K. and U.S. While the band was preparing to record the follow-up, Pew was jailed for drunk driving; former Magazine member Barry Adamson, Harry Howard, and Chris Walsh filled in for the absent Pew on 1982's Junkyard.
After the release of Junkyard, Calvert joined Psychedelic Furs and the band moved to Germany, where they began collaborating with such experimental post-punk acts as Lydia Lunch and Einstürzende Neubauten. Harvey left in the summer of 1983. The group briefly continued with drummer Des Heffner, but it soon disbanded after a final concert in Melbourne, Australia. Cave had the most successful solo career, recording a series of albums in the '80s and '90s that maintained his status as a popular cult figure; Harvey joined Cave's band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Howard joined Crime & The City Solution, which also featured his brother Harry and Harvey. Tracey Pew toured with The Saints before dying of an epileptic seizure in 1986.
--Review from AMG Allmusic Guide
Swampland
The Birthday Party Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quixanne, ah'm in its grip
Sinken in the mud
Patron-saint of the Bog.
They cum with boots of blood
Wit' pitchfawk and with club
Chantin' out mah name
Got doggies strainin' onna chain
They hunt me like a dog
Down in Sw-a-a-a-amp Land!
So cum mah executioners! Cum bounty hunters!
Cum mah county killers--for ah cannot run no more
Ah cannot run no more
Ah cannot run no more
No I can't!
Lucy, ya won't see this face agin'
When ya caught ya swing and burn
Down in Sw-a-a-a-amp Land!
The trees are veiled in fog
The trees are veiled in fog
Like so many jilted brides
Now they're all breakin' down and cry
Cryin' tears upon mah face
Cryin' tears upon mah face
And they smell of gasoline
A-a-a-a-ah- scr-e-e-e-a-am
Lucy, ya made a sinner out of me
Now ah'm burnin' like a saint
Down in Sw-a-a-a-amp Land!
So cum mah executioners!
Cum mah bounty huntahs!
Cum mah county killers
ya know ah cannot run no more
No ah cannot run no more.
The Birthday Party's "Swampland" is a song about a man who is stuck in the grips of the swamp, unable to escape the hunters chasing him. The singer is portrayed as a victim and a sinner at the same time, with Lucy being the catalyst for his downfall. There is a sense of inevitability to his fate as he sings, "ah cannot run no more" multiple times throughout the song.
The lyrics are vivid and descriptive, setting the mood of the song from the very beginning with "Quixanne, ah'm in its grip." The swamp becomes a character of its own, with the patron-saint of the bog and the trees crying tears upon the singer's face. The hunters and their dogs add to the sense of danger, with the pitchforks and clubs they carry.
Lucy is mentioned several times throughout the song, with her love turning the singer into a sinner, and her absence leading to his execution in the swamp. The song is full of religious imagery, with burning like a saint and the patron-saint of the bog.
Overall, "Swampland" is a haunting and evocative song, with Nick Cave's distinctive voice adding to the bleak atmosphere of the swamp.
Line by Line Meaning
Quixanne, ah'm in its grip
I am trapped in a place called Quixanne
Sinken in the mud
I am sinking in the mud
Patron-saint of the Bog.
I am the patron-saint of the swamp
They cum with boots of blood
People are coming with bloody boots
Wit' pitchfawk and with club
They have pitchforks and clubs
Chantin' out mah name
They are chanting my name
Got doggies strainin' onna chain
They have dogs on chains, waiting to hunt me
Lucy, ah'll love ya till the end!
I will love Lucy until the end
They hunt me like a dog
They are hunting me like a dog
Down in Sw-a-a-a-amp Land!
I am in a place called Swampland
So cum mah executioners! Cum bounty hunters!
Come, my executioners and bounty hunters
Cum mah county killers--for ah cannot run no more
Come, my killers, as I can't run anymore
Ah cannot run no more
I cannot run anymore
No I can't!
I really cannot
Lucy, ya won't see this face agin'
Lucy won't see me again
When ya caught ya swing and burn
When they catch me, they will kill me
The trees are veiled in fog
The trees are covered in fog
Like so many jilted brides
They look like brides who were stood up at the wedding
Now they're all breakin' down and cry
Now they are all breaking down and crying
Cryin' tears upon mah face
They are crying tears on my face
And they smell of gasoline
They smell like gasoline
A-a-a-a-ah- scr-e-e-e-a-am
I am screaming
Lucy, ya made a sinner out of me
Lucy has turned me into a sinner
Now ah'm burnin' like a saint
I am burning like a saint
Down in Sw-a-a-a-amp Land!
I am still in the place called Swampland
So cum mah executioners!
Again, I am calling my executioners
Cum mah bounty huntahs!
I am also calling my bounty hunters
ya know ah cannot run no more
They know that I can't run anymore
No ah cannot run no more.
Again, I cannot run anymore
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
turnip burst talcumpowder
Absolutely fantastic, louder the better
Patricio Fernandez
Rockin that 7/4 on the drums Mick!!
Alistair Boom
Great track, thanks for posting. The original 12" single I bought is in the old dears' attic, haven't heard it for over 20 years!
Scott LeBrun
My favorite BP song... brilliant
Wes Paul
It's right up there
gleeart
For a last gasp band release this passed muster & then some.
Saw them in London prior to their Berlin relocation & Nick tried to make a little "thanks/goodbye" speech before the set....was shouted down by yells of "wan###!!", & made for a classic vaudeville moment.
Happy days.
terrypussypower
Nick Cave is fucking feral on this! The Birthday Party fucking RULE!
Stephen Dedalus
This is equally hard with any death metal song. Cool.
James Sidney Reynolds
Go nick drill the songs break this at with into years play been by party private .king j
Morticia Addams
This song always reminds me of his book And the Ass Saw the Angel for some reason.Genius prose