Zwan was an American alternative rock supergroup that was formed by Billy C… Read Full Bio ↴Zwan was an American alternative rock supergroup that was formed by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, lead singer/guitarist and drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins respectively, after they disbanded in December 2000. Other members included bassist Paz Lenchantin, of A Perfect Circle, and guitarists David Pajo and Matt Sweeney of various prior bands and projects. The band released only one album, Mary Star of the Sea, in 2003, before breaking up acrimoniously that same year during their world tour to promote the album. Following the disbanding, Corgan released a solo album, TheFutureEmbrace before reforming the Smashing Pumpkins in 2005, with Chamberlin in 2006. Despite allusions to multiple album's worth of material written by band members, no further material has surfaced beyond their only studio album, and none of the material has ever been revisited in performances by any of the members outside of a brief 2017 tour by Corgan. In his solo shows in the summer of 2019, Corgan played "Honestly" and "Endless Summer" on his European summer tour at some dates.

Albums
Mary Star of the Sea (2003)

Singles
Honestly (2002)
Lyric (2003)

Ride a Black Swan
Zwan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

a black swan rode me into my place of destiny
to love, to feel so madly
stubborn to disagree
with people who think that life is just a memory
to be denied
i'll take this picture for ages
of just you and i

as the world goes 'round
it's got me thinking
that the things i want
just keep me sinking down

a white horse picks my dreams up
to take my hopes to god
my prayers have nestled brightly
to dim my sense of awe
i want you to be someone i can't deny
a house of fire
i want you to be something i realize

as the world goes 'round
it's got me thinking
that the things i want
just keep me sinking down
as the world goes 'round
it's got me thinking
that the things i want
will keep me sinking down

remove my spirit from darkness
love become my heaven
as the world goes 'round with our love

i want you to be my message
i want you to be my friend
i want you to be that answer
an answer i must defend
i want us to solve our distrust of everyone
and trust in god
i want us to solve our distrust of who we are

as the world goes 'round
it's got me thinking
that the things i want
just keep me sinking down
as the world goes 'round
it's got me thinking
that the things i want
just keep me sinking down

as the world goes 'round with our love
as the world goes 'round with our love

remove my spirit from darkness
love become my heaven
remove my spirit from darkness
love become my heaven
remove my spirit from darkness
love become my heaven

as the world goes 'round with our love
as the world goes 'round with our love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Ride a Black Swan" by Zwan speaks about finding one's destiny through love and a sense of spiritual connection. The black swan symbolizes the unexpected events in life that lead us to our ultimate purpose. The singer feels a passionate connection towards someone who they refuse to deny, despite the disapproval of others who view life as nothing more than memories to be forgotten. The singer wants to capture their connection through a picture that will last ages, with just the two of them.

The second verse introduces a white horse that represents hope and dreams that carry prayers to a higher power. The singer wants the person they love to be someone they cannot deny, and a house of fire they realize. The singer realizes that the things they desire are causing them to sink down further, and wants to remove their spirit from darkness through love. They want the person they love to be their message, their friend and the answer they must defend. They want to solve their distrust of everyone and themselves and trust in God, with the hope that their love will prevail.

Overall, "Ride a Black Swan" celebrates the power of love and the hope it brings. The singer realizes that love has the ability to lift them from darkness and take them on a journey that leads to their destiny. The song also highlights the importance of trusting not only in one's self but also in a higher power, in order to find love and ultimately inner peace.

Line by Line Meaning

a black swan rode me into my place of destiny
A strange, unexpected event led me to where I am today.

to love, to feel so madly
I have intense emotions and a strong desire for love.

stubborn to disagree
I am resistant to the ideas of others that conflict with my own.

with people who think that life is just a memory
I am opposed to those who believe that life has no meaning or significance.

to be denied
I refuse to accept that life has no purpose or value.

i'll take this picture for ages
I will capture this moment in time and treasure it always.

of just you and i
I will keep a memory of us together forever.

as the world goes 'round
As time passes and life goes on,

it's got me thinking
I am contemplating the nature and meaning of life.

that the things i want
The desires and goals I have for myself

just keep me sinking down
Are preventing me from reaching my potential and finding happiness.

a white horse picks my dreams up
A symbol of hope and renewal is carrying my aspirations forward.

to take my hopes to god
I pray that my dreams and wishes will be fulfilled.

my prayers have nestled brightly
I have faith that my prayers have been heard and will be answered.

to dim my sense of awe
My faith has lessened my feelings of wonder and amazement in the world.

i want you to be someone i can't deny
I desire a connection with you that I cannot ignore or resist.

a house of fire
This connection is powerful and intense, like a burning flame.

i want you to be something i realize
I want our relationship to be something that is grounded in reality.

remove my spirit from darkness
I pray for deliverance from despair and hopelessness.

love become my heaven
I seek the fulfillment and joy that comes from love.

i want you to be my message
I want you to be the embodiment of everything I value and believe in.

i want you to be my friend
I desire a deep, meaningful connection with you.

i want you to be that answer
I hope that you can provide the solution to my problems and questions.

an answer i must defend
I am willing to stand up for and defend the answers you provide.

i want us to solve our distrust of everyone
I want us to overcome our suspicion and lack of trust towards others.

and trust in god
I believe that putting our faith in a higher power can help us achieve this trust.

i want us to solve our distrust of who we are
I want us to overcome our doubts and insecurities about ourselves.

as the world goes 'round with our love
As time passes and life goes on, our love is what sustains and strengthens us.

remove my spirit from darkness
I pray for deliverance from despair and hopelessness.

love become my heaven
I seek the fulfillment and joy that comes from love.

as the world goes 'round with our love
As time passes and life goes on, our love is what sustains and strengthens us.

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: WILLIAM PATRICK CORGAN, MATTHEW D. SWEENEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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01Lyric3:16

02Settle Down6:40

03Declarations of Faith4:25

04Honestly3:37

05El Sol3:23

06Of a Broken Heart4:09

07Ride a Black Swan6:30

PT6M30S

Zwan

08Heartsong4:43

09Endless Summer4:34

10Baby Let's Rock!3:45

11Yeah!3:13

12Desire3:59

13Jesus, I / Mary Star of the Sea0:01

14Come With Me4:28

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Rollo Tomasi

2y↑4

Better Flow:

1. Lyric
2. Declarations of Faith
3. Honestly
4. Yeah!
5. Heartsong
6. Ride a Black Swan
7. Of a Broken Heart
8. Desire
9. Settle Down
10. El Sol
11. Come With Me
12. Baby Let's Rock
13. Endless Summer
14. Jesus, I / Mary Star of the Sea

All comments from YouTube:

Partigiano Jonny

2y↑18

Saw them perform live and Queens of the Stone Age opened. Possibly my favorite show I ever attended.

Francisco Reyes

1y↑4

La canción que más me gusta de este álbum.
La escuchaba todos los días cuando iba a la preparatoria

Last Minute Heroics

4y↑30

Blasting this while driving through the back roads of Georgia in the springtime. 💖💖💖

Amanda Laggan

4y↑1

Powker The Veriest

3y↑3

Dude.

Season Caulkins

3y↑3

That’s the life right there bro 💛

thehunzz

1y↑1

Hopefully cranked to 11. AWESOME screen name, btw 👍🤘🤙

Last Minute Heroics

1y↑1

@thehunzz Thank you!!!!!!

1 More Replies...

Aster Ginete

3y↑20

My favorite song from the album

Roy Williams

It’s the only good one

Brian R

2y↑6

When the album came out, I felt like a broken piece of my life was repaired. When they confirmed breakup... I hurt worse then when the Smashing Pumpkins broke up. This could have been so much more. But it was a filler. That's all it was. But it was a solid filler that held up for over 20 years. Best one off ever in all of alternative rock.

p0479

3y↑22

I still have the stickers that came with the cd. Saw them live 3 times. Rad as fuck.

Coltronn_

3y↑1

my ex stole my stickers and my cd. just left me with the case :( love this album

ZzKevZz

me too!

ZzKevZz

except for seeing them live

Bdog77

2y↑1

I put my stickers on my drum kit. Got to see a drum clinic with Jimmy Chamberlain in the basement of Blueberry Hill in St. Louis,MO. We lined up to shake his hand after he got done demonstrating and I was nearly speechless. All I could choke out was “Thank you.” That was when he announced that Zwan would be parting ways too. Man I wish they had made a second album with some of the material that was on the DVD that came with Mary Star of the Sea. Especially For Your Love.

Bison17timechamps

3y↑11

Love the this album fiercely... This song rips

Andrew Haueter

2y↑7

Love the cymbals in this song

Nope Nope

I know, right!!!!!

Ed Sup

3y↑37

Best drummer ever. I'll vote

noor hazli

1y↑2

Chamberlin push the limit

thehunzz

1y↑1

Bonham, Chamberlin, and me alone in the car.

Antonio Treviño

2y↑4

2:03 that chorus!!!

Brinta

@Antonio Treviño
It’s a bridge.

Alex

2y↑4

This song is absolutely one of my all time favorites … niche af

Joel Duffield

1y↑1

I was lucky enough to see them twice. Both times, when Billy introduced Jimmy, everyone went crazy!

Jason Jackson

1y↑1

If my life story ever became a movie, this song would play when the closing credits roll.

ExileOnDaytonStreet

4y↑26

It really was a shame that this band was such a flash in the pan. It's like a happier, more layered version of Pumpkins.

canag0d

4y↑4

Too many egos. Amazing album tho! One of my fav Billy Corgans

thisispermanence

4y↑5

So true. I used to think this album was too sickly sweet when it came out. All rainbows and preachy. I think I was just too railroaded by a late 90s pumpkins moodiness to have an open mind

Cosmik Gazer

3y↑2

@thisispermanence right? I loved the album, bought Zwan t-shirts, have the DVD (came w cd on release day), and even decorated my bass Zwan style but I was in such a moody, depressed phase, I didn’t fully appreciate the music. When zwan ended I stopped listening. Now at 30, I’m really fuckin loving this album!

JLidean

@Cosmik Gazer I am most disappointed that Djali Zwan did not really get a proper release apart from Spun Soundtrack. The more acoustic folk sound , is a nice contrast.

F3ui Beghardt

Billy had some falling out with the rest of the band, as I recall him saying they were more interested in smoking pot than writing and rehearsing. I think he even disavowed the album (maybe that's why he used the name Billy Burke for this release). It actually is a good album from a structural perspective, but overall, the songs sounded very similar to each other just by the fact he uses the same distortion settings across many of the tracks. I bet he did that on purpose to prove he didn't have to just make wildly opposing songs like he had in the past.

Justin Groff

2y↑2

best song ever written here !!!!!!

ZzKevZz

3y↑2

Love this so much.

Rollo Tomasi

2y↑4

Diesel Wiesel

2y↑9

Chamberlain makes this one for me . . .

Tan Mandms

4y↑33

All of 2 people here now! No one ever knows what i'm talking about when I mention Zwan. I still have a promo sticker hot glued to one of my high school hoodies.

Amanda Laggan

4y↑5

Haha, 6 of us now. ;)

F3ui Beghardt

3y↑2

If I remember correctly, the CD came with at least one sticker in the motif of Elvis' TCB era (or the cover of the album you see on screen right now). I think it was a rainbow with the band name at one end.