Songfacts®:

• A "swan song" is a song fabled to be sung by a dying swan. It refers to a performer's last work, achievement or appearance.
  
  This is not a, this is not a
  Swan, swan song
  We just gotta, we just gotta hold on tonight
  
  Here, Dua Lipa is making it clear that the fight for justice she is engaged in has not ended. She is encouraging others to stay strong as it is just the beginning and she "won't stay quiet."
• Dua Lipa wrote the song with Justin Tranter, Kennedi Lykken, Junkie XL and the producer duo of Mattman and Robin as the main theme for the epic cyberpunk action film Alita: Battle Angel.
• The futuristic video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, sees Duo Lipa on the treacherous streets of the film's fictional Iron City. The director said of the clip: "While in the film Alita is quite literally on a journey to discover who she is, her story serves as a really powerful allegory for any girl who doesn't yet know her own power. I wanted to play with that same profound notion by dropping Dua into a facet of Alita's world and allowing Alita to serve as a surrogate that leads her on a journey to discover she's stronger than she ever could have imagined."
• "Swan Song" includes on its pre-chorus a reference to the work of New York anti-HIV/AIDS advocacy group ACT UP. Their motto is "Silence = Death".
  
  I won't stay quiet, I won't stay quiet
  'Cause staying silent's the same as dying
  I won't stay quiet, the flicker's burning low
  
  Dual Lipa explained why she paraphrased ACT UP's "Silence = Death" graphic. "Alita fights for the lives of marginalized people and this reference reflects our fight as a society towards injustice."