Song Parodies -> "Learning to Swim"

Original Song Title:

"Learning to Fly"

^(MP3)

Original Performer:

"Learning to Swim"

Parody Written by:

The Lyrics

A little childhood autobiog: I grew up near a surf beach on the Southern Ocean, flanked by limestone cliffs and terraces, very convenient for jumping into the rockpools at low tide. It was only four or five meters but when you're that age it feels like Acapulco. One of the favored sports was grabbing the smaller kids by the arms and legs and tossing them in - a kind of initiation rite. I didn't exactly learn to swim that way, but it was great for overcoming a fear of deep water. Looking back it's a wonder there wasn't an unfortunate accident, but we felt proud to have been selected - after surviving our first time, that is … Some years later I spotted a blue-ringed octopus in those same pools. If bitten, you've got about one hour left.

LEARNING TO SWIM

Fell quite a distance, a rib-jolting whack
Tossed off the point, now no turning back
A fall of fancy, feel dark water yield
Flailing alone, my doom is sealed
A fatal submersion is sinking me fast
How can I escape for one resisting last gasp?

Can't seem to rise from my murky capsize
Lungs strived, insisted, just a land-bound hiss-fit, I

Panic forming, need on hips water wings
My life flashed past me. I thought - I thought of everything:
My education, the old folks at home
My lunchbox empty, the prank calls I phoned
Grave apprehension, that's learning to swim
But I'm confounded, I can't breathe like bream

Can't keep seaweed from encircling thighs
Lunged, writhed and twisted, just an kelpbound misfit - die

Above the surface in the life-giving air
A glubby hail of vapid gale of laughter there
Across my brow I feel a shadow fly
An angry scorn fills up my watering eye
The dream of death suddenly takes flight
And blows froth hole through that roof of bright light

There's no sensation to compare with this
Sweet oxygenation, a state of bliss
I flip seabird at clifftop-smirking wise guys
Tough, tried and tested, such a sun-browned surfkid, I

For OS best version, go to the live concert footage for the 1987 'Delicate Sound of Thunder' world tour, which you'll find on YouTube here.. Then go to the track list and click on 7.12. Even better, just watch the whole show from the start. When this song ends, crank up the volume for David Gilmour doing what he does at at his most powerful, majestic best: 'Sorrow'.

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