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Family Swan Lyrics by Califone

2021

Golden-eyed pigeons fly in pairs
Grey squeaklings linking space
"Swans mate for life"
The old git on the news turns to the camera
For the last word, "life"
Even the wizened are media-savvy
Swan families sticking their beaks, mounted on long thin necks
Into other family members' business
The sickness of one means the rest
Won't go to fill their swan-bellies
No, they'll stick togethеr
Floating around until the poison kills
That bullet was outlawed yеars ago
Lead shell-casings litter the area
He was a family-swan
Dead, bit the bullet
Heavy head hanging on a long limp neck
"It's hard on your mother
It's hard on your mother, you know"
In my head, I say
"Yes, you are hard on my mother"
He wants to shout out
"You're killing your mother, you're killing your mother again"
Family-man tried to down a bottle of pills
Family-mother had to get farm-woman from next door
To come and get the pills out of his mouth
Flipping him over, cursing
Like pulling out the fringe of a rug caught in the vacuum cleaner
His lips tightened over dissolving pills
White, cream, blue pills
Tiny logos carved into them
Tiny logos carved in the dissolving pills
"Are you trying to kill your mother?"
That was his crazy cry when at twelve
I got caught playing nicky-knocky-nine-doors
Seemed absurd
Mother passed us in the hall heading for her hot bath
For the first time, I noticed and wondered why
A woman's ass is wider than a man's
Foolishly I'd asked, "How did mom get cancer?"
Turned out I was to blame
The answer, "Having a child later in life and not breast feeding caused the cancer"
Oh, bitter pill
Oh, bullet with a name on it
A tiny message carved into it
A tiny message carved into my dissolving heart
When I moved away from their madness
Family-mother put on her tweed going-to-the-doctor suit
And came to my little attic apartment
She didn't say hello to my boyfriend
Sitting on the edge of my bed
She was there to inform me
That I would have to move home
My leaving had affected her sleep
Oh, now she's eighty, she has terrible nightmares
I prompt her to reveal them while I learn that she's integrating me
Into the disasters she watches on TV
Family-man tells me a million terrible things
All at once, one after another
My stature decreases
I become short and ugly again
Oh, my voice is hollow, small (My voice is hollow, small)
I can't do anything right (I can't do anything right, I am worthless)
I am worthless (Hanging on)
Hanging on (To blame)
To blame
My thinking forms awkward words
To be twisted and thrown back
Into my tiny fifty-four year-old face
Family-man's gonna set me straight
"Your mother's gonna live another twenty years
She's going to live to a hundred"
Family-man rants and gets confused
"Your mother's gonna live another hundred years"
"She's gonna live another hundred years"
Oh, I wish he'd make up his mind
I wish he'd make up his mind
Either I'm killing her or she's never going to die
Family-man tells me a million terrible things
All at once, one after another
Family-man gonna set me straight
Family-man gonna set me straight
Family-man gonna set me straight
Family-man gonna set me straight
Credits
Califone

Califone

About “Family Swan” by Califone

Read the complete lyrics to "Family Swan" by Califone in 2021. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Folk Pop, Folk, Pop.

"Family Swan" is performed by Califone. in 2021 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Family Swan", explore more songs by Califone using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Family Swan" is credited to Califone. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

Album information for "Family Swan" is not available in our database yet. You can still read the full lyrics on this page.

Visit the Califone artist page at /artist/califone for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.