Song · Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Swimming Horses” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
From the album Hyæna (1984)
“Swimming Horses” by Siouxsie and the Banshees appears on 3 radio countdowns from 1 station between 1989 and 1994. It was first released in 1984 on the album Hyæna. Its best result is #326 on the WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,923 alternative song of all time.
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Siouxsie and the Banshees led off their sixth studio album, Hyæna, with "Swimming Horses", which Polydor put out on 16 March 1984, and Mike Hedges co-produced and engineered it with the English band. Robert Smith plays guitar and keyboards, Steven Severin bass and keys, Budgie drums and percussion, and the four of them share the music credit, with Siouxsie writing the words.
The tune rides a piano-led melody laced with marimba, deceptively graceful given what's underneath. Siouxsie drew the lyric from a programme she'd seen about Les Sentinelles, a women's counterpart to Amnesty that rescues women from places where any hint of sex before marriage can mean death, and in particular the story of a mother who poisoned her daughter to spare her from being stoned.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 372 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) | 500 |
| 1991 | 326 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1994 | 485 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) | 500 |
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