Swan, swan, hummingbird
Hurrah, we are all free now
What noisy cats are we
Girl and dog he bore his cross
A long, low time ago, people talk to me

Johnny Reb what's the price of fans
Forty a piece or three for one dollar?
Hey captain don't you want to buy
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

Night wings, her hair chains,
Here's your wooden greenback, sing
Wooden beams and dovetail sweep
I struck that picture ninety times,
I walked that path a hundred ninety,
Long, low time ago, people talk to me

A pistol hot cup of rhyme
The whiskey is water, the water is wine
Marching feet, Johnny Reb, what's the price of heroes?

Six in one, half dozen the other,
Tell that to the captain's mother,
Hey captain don't you want to buy,
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

Night wings, her hair chains
Swan, swan, hummingbird
Hurrah, we are all free now
What noisy cats are we
Long, low time ago, people talk to me
A pistol hot cup of rhyme,
The whiskey is water, the water is wine

A song about a war our country inflicted on itself a number of decades ago.
Michael Stipe 1991

Quotes collected from 'R.E.M. - In Their Own Words' by Peter Hogan

Lyrics are based on fans interpretations and are not official.

All R.E.M. originals written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

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By anthony "hair chains" might refer to the practice of making jewelry and images out of a lost loved one's hair. Woven hair bracelets and locketts with a glass window were popular from the civil war up till the turn of the century.

By Elle 'Fall on me' was my favorite on LRP for a long time
but the more often I hear 'Swan Swan H' the more
I love this song
Thank you, guys

By Carolin Thanks, never knew what he was actually singing about.

By Steve