Swallowed (song)

1996 single by Bush

For the song by Blind Melon, see Nico (album).

"Swallowed"

Single by Bush
from the album  Razorblade Suitcase
B-side| "Broken TV"
Released| 15 October 1996
Recorded| 1996
Genre|

* Alternative rock[1]
* hard rock[2]
* post-grunge[3]

Length|

* 4:51 (album version)
* 4:08 (UK radio edit)
* 4:22 (Australian radio edit)
* 4:25 (music video)

Label|

* Trauma
* Interscope

Songwriter(s)| Gavin Rossdale
Producer(s)| Steve Albini
Bush singles chronology
| "Machinehead"
(1996)  | "Swallowed"
(1996)  | "Greedy Fly"
(1997)

|
|

Music video
"Swallowed" on YouTube
Alternative covers

UK CD2 cover

"Swallowed" is a song by British rock band Bush, released on 15 October 1996 as the lead single from the band's 1996 album, Razorblade Suitcase (their most popular album, reaching #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart).[4] It was later included on the remix album Deconstructed, the live album Zen X Four, and the Bush greatest hits compilation. The release of "Swallowed" followed the fifth and final single off of the band's 1994 debut album Sixteen Stone, "Machinehead", by only six months.

## Critical reception[edit]

British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five, adding that "the successful British exports look set for their first big UK hit with this melodic cut."[5] David Sinclair from The Times described it as "an undeniably catchy tune, once you get past the meaningless lyric and self-conscious Nirvana-isms."[6]

## Commercial performance[edit]

"Swallowed" was released as the lead single from the follow-up to their massively successful debut album, Sixteen Stone, which was released two years prior. Upon release, the song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven consecutive weeks, and peaked at #27 on the mainstream Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. This is the longest Bush ever stayed at #1, on any chart. It was also Bush's biggest hit in their native Britain, where it peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards, but lost to the Smashing Pumpkins' "The End Is the Beginning Is the End". This was the band's third crossover hit to Top 40 radio after "Comedown" and "Glycerine".

## Composition[edit]

A power ballad,[7] the song is in A-flat major.

Gavin Rossdale opined in 1999 that, despite a musical dissimilarity, the song was "[his] version" of the Beatles' song "Help!".[8]

## Music video[edit]

The accompanying music video for "Swallowed", directed by Jamie Morgan, was filmed in October 1996 and released later that month, is set in a retro apartment with myriad alternative youths.[9] A neon crucifix (which would later become the album cover for Deconstructed) is frequently interspersed amongst the antics of houseguests. The video was shot at Twickenham Studios England and in Florida.[10]

The video was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards.

American rock band Third Eye Blind opted to work with Jamie Morgan for their "Semi-Charmed Life" music video after seeing his work on "Swallowed".[11]

## Track listing[edit]

* UK CD single 1 IND95528
1. "Swallowed [Radio Edit]" - 4:08
2. "Broken TV" - 4:28
3. "Glycerine" - 4:26
4. "In a Lonely Place" - 5:58 (Written by Ian Curtis/Peter Hook/Stephen Morris/Bernard Sumner) Produced by Tricky

* UK CD Single 2 INDX95528
1. "Swallowed" [LP Version] - 4:53
2. "Swallowed [Toasted Both Sides Please Goldie Remix]" - 5:50
3. "Insect Kin [Live on Saturday Night Live]" - 4:09
4. "Cold Contagious [16"oz Demo Version]" - 5:57

* AUS CD single IND95519 (Cardsleeve)
1. "Swallowed [Radio Edit]" - 4:22
2. "Broken TV" - 4:28
3. "Communicator" - 4:24
4. "Glycerine [Live At Pinkpop, Holland]" - 4:42

## Charts[edit]

### Weekly charts[edit]

| Chart (1996–1997)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[12] | 25
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] | 5
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[14] | 1
Ireland (IRMA)[15] | 22
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] | 100
Scotland (OCC)[17] | 7
UK Singles (OCC)[18] | 7
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[19] | 1
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[20] | 27
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[21] | 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[22] | 2

### Year-end charts[edit]

| Chart (1996)  | Position

|

Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[23] | 40
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[24] | 94
US Modern Rock (Billboard)[25] | 86
Chart (1997)  | Position

|

Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] | 52
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[27] | 42

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The 96 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1996". Spin. p. 4. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
2. ^ Piccoli, Sean (22 March 1997). "Bush: America's Band". Sun Sentiel. Sun Senitel. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
3. ^ Sterdan, Darryl (10 April 2012). "Bush Returns To Canada". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
4. ^ "Bush – Chart history – Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
5. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 February 1997. p. 8. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
6. ^ Sinclair, David (22 February 1997). "The week's top pop releases; Records". The Times.
7. ^ Hoard, Christian David; Brackett, Nathan (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (Revised ed.). Simon and Schuster. p. 122. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
8. ^ Nine, Jennifer (1999). Bush: Twenty-seventh Letter : the Official History. Virgin. ISBN 9780753501894. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
9. ^ "Site Maintenance". www.mvdbase.com.
10. ^ "Music Video History at OneSecondBush.com - A Comprehensive Fan Site for the Band Bush". Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
11. ^ "'There Was No Overnight Success': An Oral History of Third Eye Blind's Self-Titled Debut". Billboard. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
12. ^ "Bush – Swallowed". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
13. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9806." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
14. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9882." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Swallowed". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
16. ^ "Bush – Swallowed" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
19. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
20. ^ "Bush Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
21. ^ "Bush Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
22. ^ "Bush Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
23. ^ "RPM Year End Alternative Top 50". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
24. ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Mainstream Rock Tracks" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53\. 27 December 1996. p. 23. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
25. ^ "Airplay Monitor Best of '96: Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Airplay Monitor. Vol. 4, no. 53\. 27 December 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
26. ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
27. ^ "RPM '97 Year End Top 50 Alternative Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

## External links[edit]

* "Swallowed" Official music video on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

Bush

* Gavin Rossdale
* Nik Hughes
* Chris Traynor
* Corey Britz

* Nigel Pulsford
* Dave Parsons
* Robin Goodridge

Studio albums|

* Sixteen Stone
* Razorblade Suitcase
* The Science of Things
* Golden State
* The Sea of Memories
* Man on the Run
* Black and White Rainbows
* The Kingdom
* The Art of Survival

Live albums|

* Zen X Four

Compilation albums|

* Deconstructed
* The Best of '94–'99
* Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994–2023

Home videos|

* Live!

Singles|

* "Everything Zen"
* "Little Things"
* "Comedown"
* "Glycerine"
* "Machinehead"
* "Swallowed"
* "Greedy Fly"
* "Bonedriven"
* "Cold Contagious"
* "Mouth (The Stingray Mix)"
* "The Chemicals Between Us"
* "Warm Machine"
* "Letting the Cables Sleep"
* "The People That We Love"
* "Headful of Ghosts"
* "Inflatable"
* "Afterlife"
* "The Sound of Winter"
* "Baby Come Home"
* "The Only Way Out"
* "Mad Love"
* "The Beat of Your Heart"
* "Bullet Holes"
* "Flowers on a Grave"
* "More Than Machines"

Related articles|

* Discography
* The Partisans
* Transvision Vamp
* Helmet
* Institute
* Spear of Destiny
* Stone Gods

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group
* MusicBrainz work

|

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