Swallowed

Band Thoughts:

" 'Piss on self esteem'; that's not a bad set of lyrics to manage to get on the radio! 'Simple, selfish son' Oh, yeah, I'm very selfish. I've always said that this song is my version of the Beatles 'Help', which was written at the height of Beatlemannia, even if 'Swallowed' is really about as far away form sounding like 'Help' as you're going to get.' - Gavin Rossdale

(talking about how the melody line arose)"Well, it just came up because we thought the track would be a bit stodgy if we were all hammering on the same thing. I've always liked bands who do that kind of thing, have the high and the low, give the song a bit of air underneath it, you know. It's probably a nod to The Pixies as well."- Nigel Pulsford

question: favorite line from a song? answer: "'I'm with everyone and yet not'.. And I am and then again I'm not..and that's my answer"- Robin Goodrodge

"'Swallowed' is a statement about how you can be in a crowded situation and yet not necessarily feel part of it."- Gavin Rossdale

"When you first climb that ladder if you're lucky enough, and I was lucky enough to have that insane success with it, it's a bit overwhelming in some ways. I didn't go to school where you learn how to prepare for any kind of success, I was English, I'd failed for many years, I was not used to being successful – and there's something about being swept up in that success that's daunting and really overwhelming... it wasn't a complaint, it was just an observation. "Swallowed" was a bit like his version of "Help!," although he was quick to say he's not "as good as The Beatles." - Gavin Rossdale

Asked about his favorite lyric from the song, Rossdale replied: "There was a girlfriend I had at the time, and the line 'heavy about everything but my love' – it's that thing where you have a girlfriend who's talking to everyone else about things but you think 'where am I?' It was just that line. It always tickled me a bit."

"I didn't even know it was possible to get as successful as we got. 'Swallowed' was a sense of getting lost in that tidal wave. I mean, it's the greatest tidal wave you'll ever be in. But at the same time, there's something... when you're doing it constantly and you tour for three years and you're strung out and disconnected from everyone you know and your relationship is suffering because you're away, I just felt like this sense of being swallowed up and eaten up by the life and lost to it. I mean, it's such a high-class problem that now you talk about it and go, 'Really?'" - Gavin Rossdale

“I wrote it in 10 minutes. Sometimes songs just fall out of your mouth and you go, ‘Thanks.’" - Gavin Rossdale