Lyric discussion by Drone3873 

Cover art for The Swimmer lyrics by Frank Black and the Catholics

Frank Black has said this song was about a real event, but it's not clear if he was serious.

I remember when this came out thinking back to an event where an extreme long distance swimmer was lost, I've always felt it was about that.

Frank has a few songs with the same theme, Angels Come to Comfort You is one, where a tragic death is contemplated in a fantastical way, possibly as an allegory to a potential afterlife, or as a eulogy showing his admiration.