Loudon Wainwright III – Swimming Song

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1.
This summer I went swimming,
This summer I might have drowned
But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
And I moved my arms around, I moved my arms around.

2.
This summer I swam in the ocean,
And I swam in a swimming pool,
Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes,
I'm a self-destructive fool, a self-destructive fool.

3.
This summer I swam in a public place
And a reservoir, to boot,
At the latter I was informal,
At the former I wore my suit, I wore my swimming suit.

4.
This summer I did the backstroke
And you know that's not all
I did the breast stroke and the butterfly
And the old Australian crawl, the old Australian crawl.

5.
This summer I did swan dives
And jackknifes for you all
And once when you weren't looking
I did a cannonball, I did a cannonball.

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Lyrics submitted by kaleidoscope_eye

Track duration: 02:27

"The Swimming Song" as written by Wainwright

Lyrics © DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

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Swimming Song song meanings
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8 Comments

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  • +1
    My Interpretation:To me it's about coping with life. 'I might have drowned/but I held my breath, and I kicked my feet/and I moved my arms around' - life is overwhelming, but we do our best and struggle through it and maybe our swimming improves ever so slightly.
    Flag voldermaniaon November 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:this might be a stretch but i think it might be about a relationship.

    This summer I went swimming,
    This summer I might have drowned
    But I held my breath and I kicked my feet
    And I moved my arms around, I moved my arms around.

    it may have been a first love, but the speaker is talking about how he was all into the relationship at first, and ultimately could have drowned with how deep he got into it. though, he held his breath and kicked, moved about and stayed afloat.

    This summer I swam in the ocean,
    And I swam in a swimming pool,
    Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes,
    I'm a self-destructive fool, a self-destructive fool.

    he had different experiences (ie., strokes), different places to wade, etc. while these lyrics are very simple and convey the physical meaning, i think salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes could also mean some sadness in that summer relationship.

    i'm a self-destructive fool, well, we've all been there.
    Flag rbcgirlon March 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:pretty sure its about being a alcoholic...not just the self destructive part, but lines like once when you werent looking i did a cannonball, seem like hes describing all the ways to drown in booze. chances are im wrong tho
    Flag wishbonewishboneon May 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Haha, I always thought it being about experience was the really really obvious part. Always seemed very sexual to me :D Just something to think about.
    Flag AeroplaneIslandon April 19, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Earl Scruggs Revue sings it so much better.
    Flag mamorton September 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:About way more than swimming, cmon. He might've drowned but he held his breath and kicked his feet and moved his arms around. It's about living life to its fullest without fearing death.
    Flag imgladimaliveon February 01, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I happen to disagree with tthe comment that this song is just about swimming. While a lot of Loudon's early stuff is pretty one-dimensional (cite: The Acid Song), I think this is probably his most meaningful song of his early albums. This song is all about experience, and I think that the summer he is referring to is all about his childhood to adulthood, and how you learn to see things differently and to take things slow. At the same time you take risks, and you calculate mistakes. It's about the person he portrays himself to be and the person he really is. The song is my favorite of his massive repertoire.
    Flag bzenzon December 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love how Loudon's songs don't seem to be about anyhting but exactly what he states. This summer he went swimming! Or at least, I can't find a hiding meaning behind it. I like swimming.
    Flag forksarentcoolon October 02, 2006   Link

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