The Healers is the opener off Birthing, a grandiose evolving piece that takes the listener on to a 20+ minutes journey through slick textures on an ocean of sounds.
It starts off slow, gentle opening drones and Gira strumming two notes of his acoustic guitar. Ambiguous lyrics accompanied by angelic...
[Verse 1]
I am the mother of our daughter
My wings spread out across the sky
She fell from heaven but I caught her
The light flies out from in my thighs
And I will punish those that hurt her
And I will comfort those that nurture
[Verse 2]
I am the mother of our slaughter
I break your bones to feed our daughter
In buried dreams, I sift the powder
Inside your throat, I hide her thunder
I killed the daughter in my own mother
Now I’m my mother, going under
[Bridge]
Under, under
Under, under
Under, under
Under, under, under, under, under
[Instrumental Section]
(Vocalizing)
[Verse 3]
The wolves are swimming in our harbor
Our lungs are breathing in black water
The heavens rain down knives of silver
To kiss our bodies in the river
[Verse 4]
So many minds, so much to choose
So many heartaches, so much to lose
So many angels sailing through dust
So many teardrops, so many pearls
I’m calling you my light, I’m calling you my light
I’m calling you my light, I’m calling you home
[Instrumental Section]
(Ah, ah, ah, ah)
[Verse 5]
Every night I bend my knees
I pray for you to comfort me
I pray for you to clean my eyes
I pray for you to wash my mind
Oh...
[Instrumental Section]
[Outro, spoken]
Okay, that has to be good enough
The Healers was written by Michael Gira & Larry Mullins & Phil Puleo & Christopher Pravdica & Dana Schechter & Kristof Hahn.
The Healers was produced by Michael Gira.
Swans released The Healers on Fri May 30 2025.