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Cover of Siren Song of the Counter Culture by Rise Against — Cover: Siren Song of the Counter Culture

Song · Rise Against

“Swing Life Away” by Rise Against

From the album Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004)

“Swing Life Away” by Rise Against appears on 20 radio countdowns from 18 stations between 2005 and 2022. It was first released in 2004 on the album Siren Song of the Counter Culture. Its best result is #4 on the X96 Top 50 Songs of 2005. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #31 alternative song of 2005, #5,089 alternative song of all time and #286 of the '00s.

20countdowns

18stations

#4best position

0#1 finishes

2top 10 finishes

2005–2022years charted

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Rise Against - Swing Life Away

Video from YouTube (RiseAgainstVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Swing Life Away" is the day Rise Against put the distortion down. Tim McIlrath wrote it with his roommate Neil Hennessy, and it's a sharp-edged acoustic ballad full of hope about everyday life and the working class. The band left it off their 2003 album Revolutions per Minute because it didn't fit that record's hardcore roar, but the song had already appeared on the compilation Punk Goes Acoustic, and a DreamWorks executive talked them into bringing it back for Siren Song of the Counter Culture in 2004.

Garth Richardson produced and Andy Wallace mixed, and it went out as the album's second single, reaching 12 on the Alternative Songs chart and going platinum. Fans have taken it to graduations, proms, weddings and funerals, and it remains one of the band's most popular songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2005	69	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2005	107
2005	36	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 2005	91
2005	71	Live 105 San Francisco, CA	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2005	106
2005	31	Q101 Chicago, IL	Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2005	101
2005	82	WFNX Boston, MA	WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2005	100
2005	69	107.7 The End Seattle, WA	The End Top 107 Songs of 2005	107
2005	29	89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON	89X Top 89 Songs of 2005	89
2005	77	CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON	CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2005	102
2005	39	CHOI Radio X Quebec City, QC	CHOI Top 98 Songs of 2005	98
2005	17	The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC	The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2005	99
2005	12	Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA	Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2005	105
2005	10	88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH	88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 40 Songs of 2005	40
2005	4	X96 Salt Lake City, UT	X96 Top 50 Songs of 2005	50
2005	34	Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart)	Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2005	100
2005	28	CRNC 90.1 Niagara / Toronto, ON	CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of 2005	91
2005	60	ModernRock.com Online	ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005	400
2010	50.5	ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA	Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2010	51

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
2010	140	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	102.1 The Edge Top 200 New Rock Songs of the Millennium	200
2010	207	94.1 The Zone	94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade	210
2022	212	X96	X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time	500

Also listed as: Swing LIfe Away; Sing Life Away.

Charting alongside it in 2005

Best songs of 2005 →

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