Swallow It is a track that's difficult to get a handle on, particularly as an album closer. Over a brisk 4/4 tempo and an oblique nylon-string guitar figure, Flowers, almost talk-singing, states, "Seek out the light between/ time and confusion glowing up ahead/ instead of slipping through/ you bit off more, much more than you could chew."
Ad he doesn't let up. With Darren Beckett's same steady drumbeat guiding him, he sings in almost a monotone, "You could not swallow it/ no baby you're not ready, slow down/ and take the time to evolve/ you could not swallow It/ no baby you're not ready, slow down."
Flowers blends his voices in the bridge to jarring effect. With a muted rhythm tapping away, he says, "Take your medicine and crawl before you walk/ think it through before you open you open your mouth to talk/ be an advocate of joy/ find your little heart's desire and follow it..."
Electric guitars pan back and and forth before a reprise of the opening nylon-string figure brings the song to a close. Whether or not it's his crowning achievement (Flowers has stated in interviews that Swallow It is his proudest of creations), it's an intriguing finish to an album that has provided us with full-body cries and whispers, screams and quivers of delight.
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