Charles Ives - From "The Swimmers"

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Then the swift plunge into the cool green dark
The windy waters rushing past me, through me;
Filled with the sense of some heroic lark
Exulting in a vigor clean and roomy
Swiftly I rose to meet the feline sea...
Pitting against a cold turbulent strife
The feverish intensity of life...

Out of the foam I lurched and rode the wave
Swimming hand over hand, over hand, against the wind;
I felt the sea's vain pounding, and I grinned
Knowing I was its master, not its slave

Release Date: January 01, 1922

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Charles Ives

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The meaning of the song

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This piece from Charles Ives' "The Swimmers" captures the exhilaration and power of swimming in the open sea. The music evokes the feeling of diving into the cool, green depths and being carried by the rushing waters. The imagery of a heroic lark and a sense of vigor and intensity infuses the piece with a sense of triumph and freedom. The lyrics describe the sensation of facing turbulent waters and emerging victorious, feeling a sense of mastery over the sea. The music and words come together to create a dynamic and invigorating ode to the joy and power of swimming in the vast expanse of the ocean.

Biography

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Arguably the first modernist composer, Charles Ives (1874-1954) was a solitary figure who composed in obscurity for most of his life. The son of a U.S. Army bandleader, Ives enjoyed a wildly successful career as an insurance executive. In his spare time, he composed music in a wide variety of genres that combined popular song, church hymns, military marches, and European art music in ways that used tone clusters, polytonality, and other techniques decades before they were adopted by European composers.