Swan Dive

Album: Little Plastic Castle (1998)
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  • Cradling the softest, the warmest part of you in my hands
    Feels like a little baby bird
    Fallen from the nest
    I think that your body is something I understand
    I think that I'm happy
    I think that I'm blessed

    But I've had a lack of inhibition
    I've had a loss of perspective
    I've had a little bit to drink
    And it's making me think
    That I can jump ship and swim
    That the ocean will hold me
    That there's got to be more
    Than this boat I'm in

    'Cause they can call me crazy if I fail
    All the chance that I need
    Is one-in-a-million and they can call me brilliant
    If I succeed
    Gravity is nothing to me
    Moving at the speed of sound
    I'm just gonna get my feet wet
    Until I drown

    I teeter between tired
    And really, really tired
    I'm wiped and I'm wired
    But I guess that's just as well
    'Cause I've built my own empire
    Out of car tires and chicken wire
    I'm queen of my own compost heap
    And I'm getting used to the smell

    I've had a lack of information
    I've had a little revelation
    I'm climbing up on the railing
    Trying not to look down
    I'm going to do my best swan dive
    Into shark infested waters
    I'm going to pull out my tampon
    And start splashing around

    'Cause I don't care if they eat me alive
    I've got better things to do than survive
    I've got the memory of your warm skin in my hands
    And I've got a vision of blue sky and dry land

    Cradling the hardest, heaviest part of me in my hands
    The ship is pitching and heaving
    Our limbs are bobbing and weaving
    I think that this is something I understand

    I just need a couple vaccinations
    For my far-away vacation
    I'm gonna go ahead and go boldly
    'Cause a little bird told me
    That jumping is easy, but falling is fun
    Right up until you hit the sidewalk
    Shivering and stunned

    They can call me crazy if I fail
    All the chance that I need
    Is one-in-a-million and they can call me brilliant
    If I succeed
    Gravity is nothing to me
    Moving at the speed of sound
    I'm just gonna get my feet wet
    Until I drown
    I'm just gonna get my feet wet
    Until I drown
    I'm just gonna get my feet wet
    Until I drown Writer/s: Ani Di Franco
    Publisher: Downtown Music Publishing
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Elizabeth from Akron, OhInteresting theory that by "tak[ing] out [her] tampon and start splashing around" means her menstral blood is going to attract sharks. Because when a woman goes into water of any kind, her period stops automatically. Kind of like a natural defense. I'll admitt, even though I'm a fan of Ani DiFranco, I've never actually heard this song but I just read the lyrics. It doesn't mean she's going to 'call on the sharks with her blood from the tampon and the noise' - it means she's brave. It means she can trust her own body and her own instincts. She's not worried about survival, she wants to experience life fully and to do so, she's willing to take risks. This artist is a bisexual feminist icon, the only shocking visual that was created by that line was that she's not afraid. PLUS...sharks are attracted to low-frequency pulsed sounds, similar to those wounded or ill prey would emit. Most attractive sounds are in the frequency range of 25 to 100 Hz. Some sharks are attracted to sound sources from distances as great as 250 m (820 ft.). To quote Jesse Pinkman, "Yeah, science, bitch!"
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