This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Warm sun feed me up
I'm leery loaded up
Loathing for a change
And I slip some
Boil away
Swallowed, followed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, sorrowed
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet
Just wanted to be myself
Hey you said you would love to try some
Hey you said you would love to die some
In the middle of a world on a fishhook
You're the wave, you're the wave, you're the wave
Swallowed, borrowed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, hollowed
Sharp about everyone but yourself
Swallowed, oh no
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and you're not
I'm with everyone and yet
Piss on self-esteem
Forward busted knee
Sick head, blackened lungs
And I'm a simple selfish son
Swallowed, followed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, oh no
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Miss the one that I love a lot
I miss the one that I love a lot
I miss the one that I love a lot
I love
I'm leery loaded up
Loathing for a change
And I slip some
Boil away
Swallowed, followed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, sorrowed
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet
Just wanted to be myself
Hey you said you would love to try some
Hey you said you would love to die some
In the middle of a world on a fishhook
You're the wave, you're the wave, you're the wave
Swallowed, borrowed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, hollowed
Sharp about everyone but yourself
Swallowed, oh no
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and you're not
I'm with everyone and yet
Piss on self-esteem
Forward busted knee
Sick head, blackened lungs
And I'm a simple selfish son
Swallowed, followed
Heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed, oh no
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
I'm with everyone and yet not
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Got to get away from here
Miss the one that I love a lot
I miss the one that I love a lot
I miss the one that I love a lot
I love
Lyrics submitted by Moondragon
Swallowed Lyrics as written by Gavin Rossdale
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.

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Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.
It's a story about a lost love. The pain it causes has to be swallwed and move on. That even if surrounded by friends and family you're alone. In this world she was the one who save you from its sorrow. And you don't belong here anymore so you have to get away, because you miss her a lot.
The greatest song ever...
song writers like metaphors. It has to mean something and make sense to them... and it leaves the listener to interperate it himself. Every song has a different meaning to each different person who listens. Music is beautiful that way. How i love metaphors
(although i cant seem to figure out this song... has no meaning to me i guess... good song though.)
please make bush comments. they are such a good band, they deserve way more comments than they have. I wanna know what other people think of their songs mean too. Bush rules!!!
I don't know how I feel about the meaning of this song quite yet. Even with out lyrics, the music to this song brings out it's own emotions. I love it. I see how people can assume this song is about drugs, but more so, I believe it's about a girl. Maybe even both subjects. He's hurt, struggling, confused and trying to make a difference. At the end, he finally realizes he needs to make a change, get away, and make things okay again. Great song.
I agree this is a song about him missing his love... but...I think it is about how he can only rely on the person who he loves "Heavy 'bout everything but my love"
Hte whole world is pulling at him b/c of his fame; he gets pissed, he gets tired, he gets depressed, he is hurting from all of the pressures "piss on self esteem...." I think he also talks about how the person he loves does not understand the position he is in "hey you said you would love to try some..." Finally he loves the person not matter what" Sharp about every on but yourself" could refer to his defensiveness towards every one but the one he loves.
Pretty Simple....
Drug Use....Not be happy about your life or the direction it's taking. Waiting for that change to happen but until the only escape is drugs.
Being "heavy" about something is to have emotional distress. So by saying he's heavy about everything but his love could mean that theres a supportive love interest or that in the way he loves those around him he finds relief.
Being with everyone but yet not, is a simple but beautiful lyric. He's being disassociative about his interactions with others. You can surround yourself with people, try to distract yourself but those feelings of anxiety and uncertainty remain. Sort of spacing out when around people.
This song speaks exactly of two things. A love and an addiction, a love so passionate that he does not forget (his soul mate), and an addiction that suffers consumes it: the story is summed up that he or he lost his great love for his addiction. And wants to find that great love that he or he has lost.
How come theres like no comments on any bush songs? That pisses me off...Bush is and was a great band. They may have lost a little bit of their goodness on their last cd, but their first two cd's were amazing and this song is amazing also. And i'm not sure exactly what it's about but oh well i still love it!
i think that this song does have to do with love, but i also think that it invloes drugs. Im sure that im way off, but everytime i listen to it, i can't help but think it. "i slip some boil away", "hey you said that you would love to try some", i don't know, thats just waht i think. and plus, people need to make more comments about them, they have hardly any and the are the best fuckin band
I totally agree with babyelf. To me this song is about a man that is looking for his love because she's the only person that has sense to him.
@vfobush Me too a person lady or man is looking the true love