[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Frightened Rabbit — Swim Until You Can't See Land
Album: The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Avg rating:
6.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 716









Released: 2010
Length: 4:15
Plays (last 30 days): 0
I salute at the threshold of the North Sea of my mind
And I nod to the boredom that drove me here to face the tide
And I swim, I swim, oh swim

Dip a toe in the ocean, oh how it hardens and it numbs
The rest of me is a version of man built to collapse in crumbs
And if I hadn't come now to the coast to disappear
I may have died in a landslide of rocks and hopes and fears

So I swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Up to my knees now
Do I wade? Do I dive?
The sea has seen my like before, though it's my first and perhaps last time
Let's call me a baptist, call this a drowning of the past
She is there on the shoreline throwing stones at my back

So I swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

And the water is taller than me
And the land is a marker line
All I have is a body adrift in water, salt and sky

So I swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Swim until you can't see land
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?

Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Comments (45)add comment
...and that's exactly what he did...breathtakingly heartbreaking...
 SoundThinker wrote:

I don't think there is any song that freaks me out more than this song!

Swim until you can't see land? Are you friggin' NUTS!?!?!?!?!?



That's kinda what the song is about. Sometimes it seems that half of what Scott wrote was a sort of suicide note.
 SoundThinker wrote:

I don't think there is any song that freaks me out more than this song!

Swim until you can't see land? Are you friggin' NUTS!?!?!?!?!?




Yeah, I was just going to write something similar. If you swim until you can't see land, you will become a bag of sand!
I don't think there is any song that freaks me out more than this song!

Swim until you can't see land? Are you friggin' NUTS!?!?!?!?!?
I saw these guys open for Death Cab back in 2011. 

RIP, Mr. Hutchison.
Swim until your cat sees why
Lol
 cavemanleong wrote:

It's so ironic that he sang about the very way he eventually took his own life. You are so missed Scott.

just thought it was a sad song, now it seems like a solemn goodbye...hope that no one I love ever opts for suicide. RIP

I basically hate this song!!! It so FREAKS me out! NO FUCKING WAY would I ever swim until I cannot see land! Are you friggin' CRAZY?!?!?!? Do you want to die? 

I've only been afraid I was going to die twice in my life and both times it was in the water too far away to see land. 
A Scottish jewel and excellent song writer. You will be missed  
Five years ago, this was my kid's favorite bedtime song to bounce and tire themselves out.  Today, this touches my heart as I dive deeper and deeper into introspection and daily meditation.  
It's so ironic that he sang about the very way he eventually took his own life. You are so missed Scott.
I saw FR in Lafayette, LA in 2006.  Scott's intensity and willingness to be emotionally raw onstage was remarkable.   Few artists have had that level of intimacy that I have seen (live).  It was beautiful and heartbreaking.  What a loss
No way!!! Frightened Rabbit is an appropriate name for me about this crazy song! 

My biggest fear is swimming in salt water! 

Swim until you can't see land? You must be insane! Never! 
This track is growing on me. Reminds me of XTC. 
 jukes1 wrote:

There is no sea like the Northsea!!!
Top 5 album ever.
 

 coldatlantic wrote:
If you like this at all, their previous album—The Midnight Organ Fight—is a masterful bundle of artful, bitter breakup music.
 

Top 5 album ever.
 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:


Jeepers, reading  the back story this song is almost unbearably painful. swim till you can't see land.. what a powerful and excrutiatingly sad  metaphor.
 

This isn’t even the worst one. This is devastating for all its beauty.

edit: technically I’m wrong as there isn’t much metaphor in Floating in The Forth 
 DaidyBoy wrote:
As a sufferer of depression, I can appreciate where this song comes from and I find it unbearably tragic every time I hear of caring, talented people leaving of their own accord.

Beautifully followed here today by Morning Has Broken, I hope Scott has found the peace he deserves, whatever follows.
 

Jeepers, reading  the back story this song is almost unbearably painful. swim till you can't see land.. what a powerful and excrutiatingly sad  metaphor.
Are you a man? Are you a bag of sand?
Only heard it just now for the first time and it's already annoying.
Anyone else thing there is a bit of an XTC vibe in this song?
As a sufferer of depression, I can appreciate where this song comes from and I find it unbearably tragic every time I hear of caring, talented people leaving of their own accord.

Beautifully followed here today by Morning Has Broken, I hope Scott has found the peace he deserves, whatever follows.
I've been listening to these guys for a few years now. Thanks to KCRW-FM Santa Monica.
What a tragic loss of Scott Hutchison the leader of this group.
This is one of my favorite songs.
So this happened last night...  any way to do a tribute??

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/scott-hutchison-frightened-rabbit-frontman-found-dead-by-police/ar-AAx6ZPw?ffid=gz

 coldatlantic wrote:
If you like this at all, their previous album—The Midnight Organ Fight—is a masterful bundle of artful, bitter breakup music.
 



That's an excellent album.
If you like this at all, their previous album—The Midnight Organ Fight—is a masterful bundle of artful, bitter breakup music.
At first, an easy 7, but then looking up and reading the lyrics, I have to make it an 8.  Next time I hear it, I will revisit my rating.  kthxbai.


Frightened rabbit swimming?  I remember Jimmy Carter having that problem.
 RParadise wrote:

A perfect argument against cute band names.

Yes, I know.  The above comment has nothing to do with the music.  Still, I stand by my opinion.

 
Ah, well, that's the end of Gerry and the Gibbering Gerbils then :o)

I can't see this frightening any rabbits. Anaesthetising them, maybe... {#Sleep}
 mandolin wrote:


...oh, wait, frightened, not ing...
 
Oh, mandolin - I'm laughing until I can't see straight. And then I'm gonna swim until I can't see land.  And after that, I'm gonna swarm until I'm candyland.

Love this song...



...oh, wait, frightened, not ing...
Unless you're Aquaman...that doesn't sound like a good idea.
Finally found the CD - saved my lunch money and bought this and Mumford & Sons.
Timid Bunny, eh?  OK...
great song title, album title, band name, and song! the video is pretty good, too.
7 just for the Scottish accent. {#Heartkiss}
My quickest added upload ever.
Had tried to give it a 5, but the repetitive ending dropped it to a 4.
Last year was my winter of mixed drinks... this year I am raising the bar, it will be my winter of straight bourbon. 
 
First heard this band on an episode of NBC's Chuck during the show's first season and heard enough there to want to check them out. Interesting textures and all around good stuff.

I'm having a devil of a time finding this cd locally!
Thanks Bill! 

A perfect argument against cute band names.

Yes, I know.  The above comment has nothing to do with the music.  Still, I stand by my opinion.


Sounds a bit like Counting Crows.. not bad
Love this song!