Swim

I like the "starf**ckers" theory but there are a couple problems i have with it. Mostly, when they were writing this song, they weren't popular enough to have groupies. I remember going to one of their concerts a loooooong time ago before "glycerine" was poplular and the majority of the people did not know who Bush was. So here's what i think: Starting w/ the title "Swim"-i think this refers to the line in the song "Thinning ice, 14 Hairdryers, Swimming to you" which i think is about a overcoming a struggle/desire to be with someone. So if that is what the song is a/b, then what the heck do the other lyrics mean?:

"House is on fire We're naked again Maybe all we need Is water and friends"-I think this might be about how he truly cannot resist this person, even though he knows its unhealthy, they end up "naked again"- I think "water"-in reference to putting out the house that is on fire could mean they need to extinguish there 'flame' or passion for each other. And "friends" simply mean distractions to keep them from thinking a/b each other.

For the remainder of the song, except for the last couple of lines, he has given up trying to resist and throws himself at this person.

Finally he says... "I'm not scared of you Gave up on drugs ( i believe the actual words are "gonna give up on drugs") If I make it through The jaws of love Jaws of love" Ok, so maybe the keyword for the entire song is "DRUGS" but if not, this last line could mean that he's finally had enough with this screwed up relationship and wants out. Until he is free, however, he will continue to smack large amounts of crack and write crazy songs that are truly truly incredible.

ANY OTHER OPINIONS?, cause this is really just a guess. Oh and as for the line: "Poor on the rise Rich on the fall The cripple's with you Fame is a whore" we'll just pretend that's not in this song, b/c i really don't get it

I just think it means being so sexually attracted to someone that it scares the guy. He comes to visit her with "helmet on" or thinking he won't succumb to lust, but she just takes him anyway. Definitely one of my favorite songs. The best line is "shackles and chains won't keep me away"...mmmmm.

I have for a while read "Swim", probably one of the darkest songs in the Rossdale sage, as being written from the point of view of a man who is in an abusive relationship with a female. I think that the relationship described in this song wasn't always abusive, and the protagonist wants back the personality of this woman when she first met her.

"Could not believe, came here today, helmet was on, blew me away" -- the "helmet was on" part may reference the fact that the protagonist has become accustomed to violence from his girlfriend/wife becoming a normal part of his life. But he "could not believe" and "blew me away" suggest that the suffering was even greater than usual. "Came here today" simply narrates the routine of arriving home (i.e. from work, etc) and integrates the narrator's hardship into his normal life.

"House was on fire, we're naked again" -- this is a pretty obscure and discordant lyric, but I agree with another commenter that this may be about being unable to resist the person, and I suggest "we're naked again" may be about copiously wanting to be intimate with the song's subject, but knowing it will cause danger, a la "house was on fire".

"Maybe all we need, is water and friends" -- I am unsure about the "water" element to this (though water could extinguish the aforementioned "fire"), but I am exploring the possibility that being surrounded by "friends" may make the narrator's lover less abusive? Although this is a long-shot.

"Thinning ice, 14 hairdryers" -- yet another lyric shrouded in mystery, although in my opinion it could, though this is a stretch to say the absolute least, represent his wish, to have this woman in his life without the routine abuse and violence, yet he acknowledges the sheer unlikelihood of this, and his optimism fading, much as ice would melt into water in the presence of hairdryers.

"Flame on earth desire" -- this is a difficult lyric, but I think it may reference a contrast betwixt the enormity of the earth, but the tiny, yet fervent nature, of a flame. He passionately wants back the woman he fell in love with, or thought he did, before she became abusive, but it feels so insignificant and hopeless, like a tiny flame would to the earth.

"This cripple's with you" -- I think this line may be the narrator acknowledging the injuries that he's endured at the hands of the song's subject, to the point that the narrator is now possibly even in some way handicapped (i.e "crippled"). It could have further connotations to the effect that even though he's been crippled by her, he still has strong feelings for her, and as such wishes to be "with" her.

"If money talks, I want to buy you" -- I read this part as the protagonist speculating that if he suddenly became wealthy, achieving rockstar success, winning the lottery, would she cease her abuse of him?

"I'm not scared of you, gave up on drugs" -- "I'm not scared of you" is a defiant statement by the narrator, saying he has no fear of this girl despite all that she has put him through, and by extension feeling he will get what he wants with her in the end. "Gave up on drugs", could relate to the above point, meaning either: that the narrator thinks giving up on drugs himself would impress her sufficiently to relinquish her abusive nature, or that her giving up on drugs may bring her into a more stable, and less abusive mindset.

My buddy has a theory that this song is about "starfuckers", or obsessive groupies for the most part... He says its about the love of the art and the path that has been chosen, but fans smother the life out of him... Like his fame is a whore, meaning both a disease infested curse of a lifestyle, and also a "quick fix" to most of his problems...

It's a double edged sword.

I especially love the screaming at the end of this song with "You give and you give and you give". One of my favorite songs off of Sixteen Stone.

wow, i can't believe that there are no comments for this song. Whats wrong with you people? j/j. Anyways, i reallly really like this song. I think that its bush at its finest, well maybe not finest, but close. I'm a lot would disagree, but i think its an amazing song. Especially the "i wanna live, i wanna die you" thats awesome.

whoops, i meant "i know a lot would disagree", not "i'm a lot would disagree" sorry, this blonde bleach is gettin to me. . .

This song is sweet and funny, especially the thing with the fourteen hairdryers. It's so random.

I think this is one of my favorite Bush songs. I love the "fame is a whore." I dont exactly get the entire meaning, but its an awesome song.