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.
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.