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Swimming Horses Lyrics
Falling in your, falling in your arms
Fish on a line, learns to live on dry land
Thrown back again to drown
Kinder with poison
Than pushed down a well - or a face burnt to hell
Feel the cruel stones breaking her bones
Dead before born
Words fall in ruins - but no sound
She's dying of your shame - she's maimed by your pain
He gives birth to swimming horses
Fish on a line, walking on dry land
But, back in the water to drown we drown
Floating in sky
He gives birth to swimming horses
Take a ride on the tide with the assassin at your side
The weightlessness under water -- forgets in slow motion
And washes pointless tortures
He gives birth to swimming horses
Floating in sky like fishes can fly through your arms
Fish on a line, learns to live on dry land
Thrown back again to drown
Kinder with poison
Feel the cruel stones breaking her bones
Dead before born
Words fall in ruins - but no sound
He gives birth to swimming horses
But, back in the water to drown we drown
Floating in sky
Take a ride on the tide with the assassin at your side
The weightlessness under water -- forgets in slow motion
And washes pointless tortures
Floating in sky like fishes can fly through your arms
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According to Siouxsie:
"This is based on a programme I saw about a female version of Amnesty, called ‘Les Sentinelles’. They rescue women who are trapped in certain religious climates in the Middle East, religions that view any kind of pre-marital sexual aspersion as punishable by death - either by the hand of the eldest brother in the family, or by public stoning. And there was this instance of a woman whose daughter had developed a tumour, and, of course, gossip abounded that she was pregnant. The doctor who removed the tumour allowed her to take it back to the village to prove that, no, it wasn’t a baby - but they wouldn’t believe her. The woman knew her daughter would have to be stoned to death so she poisoned her, out of kindness, to save her from a worse fate. Now this organisation has all these escape routes for women like her, mainly through the elder brother who pretends to have killed them. But once they’ve been saved, they can never go back. So the song starts, Kinder than with poison... I also used the imagery of, He gives birth to swimming horses, from the fact that male sea horses give birth to the children, so they’re the only species that have a maternal feel for the young. It was, I suppose, an abstract way of linking it all together without being sensationalist. I remember just being really moved by that programme, and wanting to get the sorrow out of me."
Great Post!
Great Post!
Well there it is...from the horses mouth...per se...
Well there it is...from the horses mouth...per se...
@monster36604 wow, the story of that girl is so wild and heartbreaking. And to be honest, without Siouxsie explaining it, I would have never guessed that it was a song about honour killings
@monster36604 wow, the story of that girl is so wild and heartbreaking. And to be honest, without Siouxsie explaining it, I would have never guessed that it was a song about honour killings
Moster pretty much summed up the meaning of this song and unfortunately, the meaning still holds true to this day, as these honour killings continue.
As for the song itself, I think the piano here is great and Siouxsie's voice is wonderful as ever. People often ignore her lyrics, calling them too cryptic and amaturish. But the lyrics here are wonderfully poetic and it is sad that they are so underappreciated.
@JJKelsall but we appreciate them ???? and we feel the helpless rage she feels
@JJKelsall but we appreciate them ???? and we feel the helpless rage she feels
SIOUXSIE: "This is based on a programme I saw about a female version of Amnesty, called ‘Les Sentinelle’. "They rescue women who are trapped in certain religious climates in the Middle East, religions that view any kind of pre-marital sexual aspersion as punishable by death - either by the hand of the eldest brother in the family, or by public stoning. And there was this instance of a woman whose daughter had developed a tumour, and, of course, gossip abounded that she was pregnant. The doctor who removed the tumour allowed her to take it back to the village to prove that, no, it wasn’t a baby - but they wouldn’t believe her. The woman knew her daughter would have to be stoned to death so she poisoned her, out of kindness, to save her from a worse fate. So the song starts, ‘Kinder than with poison...’ I also used the imagery of, ‘He gives birth to swimming horses’, from the fact that male sea horses give birth to the children, so they’re the only species that have a maternal feel for the young. It was, I suppose, an abstract way of linking it all together without being sensationalist. I remember just being really moved by that programme, and wanting to get the sorrow out of me." Source: Melody Maker 17/10/92.
I think this was about a young unmarried woman who was either pregnant, or had a tumor that made her appear pregnant, and she was poisoned by her family so that she wouldn't be stoned.
when non sensical songs are given more meaning than they have by the non sensical listener, they eventually turn into melancholia