Swan song#Idiomatic usage

In Greek mythology, the swan was a bird consecrated to Apollo, and it was therefore considered a symbol of harmony and beauty and its limited capabilities as a singer were sublimated to those of songbirds.

Aesop's fable of "The Swan and the Goose" incorporates the swan song legend as saving its life when it was caught by mistake instead of the goose but was recognized by its song.{{cite book|title=The Complete Fables|last=Aesop|publisher=Penguin Classics|year=1998|isbn=0-14-044649-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/completefables00aeso/page/126/mode/2up |page=127}} There is a subsequent reference in Aeschylus' Agamemnon from 458 BCE.{{sfn|Arnott|1977|pp=149}} In that play, Clytemnestra compares the dead Cassandra to a swan who has "sung her last lament".{{cite web |author=Aeschylus |title=Agamemnon |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0004%3Acard%3D1431 |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |at=Lines 1444–5. |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909205311/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0004:card%3D1431 |url-status=live }}

In Plato's Phaedo, the character of Socrates says that, although swans sing in early life, they do not do so as beautifully as before they die. He adds that there is a popular belief that the swans' song is sorrowful, but Socrates prefers to think that they sing for joy, having "foreknowledge of the blessings in the other world".{{cite web |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0170%3Atext%3DPhaedo%3Asection%3D84e |author=Plato |title=Phaedo |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |at=84e–85b |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909205313/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0170:text%3DPhaedo:section%3D84e |url-status=live }} Aristotle noted in his History of Animals that swans "are musical, and sing chiefly at the approach of death".{{cite book |author=Aristotle |translator-last=Thompson |translator-first=D'Arcy W. |date=1910 |url=https://archive.org/details/historiaanimaliu00aris_0/page/n421/mode/2up |title=Historia Animalium |at=615b |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}} By the third century BC the belief had become a proverb.{{sfn|Arnott|1977|pp=149–153}}{{cite book|title=The Whooper Swan|last=Brazil|first=Mark|publisher=T & A D Poyser|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7136-6570-3|pages=64–65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-E6dEYkcwsC&pg=PA64|access-date=13 June 2015|archive-date=23 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623213920/https://books.google.com/books?id=b-E6dEYkcwsC&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}

Ovid mentions the legend in "The Story of Picus and Canens":{{cite web |author=Ovid |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D14%3Acard%3D320 |title=Metamorphoses XIV |at=Lines 428–430. |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909202649/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028:book%3D14:card%3D320 |url-status=live }}

{{poem quote |In tears she poured out words with a faint voice,

lamenting her sad woe, as when the swan

about to die sings a funereal dirge.}}It is also possible that the swan song has some connection to the lament of Cycnus of Liguria at the death of his lover, Phaethon, the ambitious and headstrong son of Helios and Clymene. The name Cycnus is the Latinised form of the Greek, which means "swan". Hyginus proposes in his Fabulae that the mournful Cycnus, who is transformed into a swan by the gods, joins the dirge of the amber-crying poplars, the Heliades, the half-sisters of the dead Phaethon, who also experienced a metamorphosis at the death of the reckless Phaethon.{{Cite book|last=Hyginus |title=Mythographus|editor-first1=Peter K|editor-last1=Marshall|date=2002-12-31|chapter=Fabulae|chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110975512|doi=10.1515/9783110975512|isbn=9783110975512|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922071735/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110975512/html|url-status=live}}

The most familiar European swan, the mute swan (Cygnus olor), although not actually mute, is known neither for musicality nor to vocalize as it dies. This has led some to criticize swan song beliefs since antiquity, one of the earliest{{cite book|title=Birds in the Ancient World from A to Z|last=Arnott|first=W. Geoffrey|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=978-0-203-94662-6|pages=182–184|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b4pN4OApWw4C&dq=arnott+whooper+swan&pg=PA183|access-date=19 November 2021|archive-date=22 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922071753/https://books.google.com/books?id=b4pN4OApWw4C&dq=arnott+whooper+swan&pg=PA183|url-status=live}} being Pliny the Elder: in CE 77, Natural History (book 10, chapter xxxii: olorum morte narratur flebilis cantus, falso, ut arbitror, aliquot experimentis), states: "observation shows that the story that the dying swan sings is false." Peterson et al. note that Cygnus olor is "not mute but lacks bugling call, merely honking, grunting, and hissing on occasion."{{cite book|title=A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe|last1=Peterson |first1=R. T. |last2=Mountfort |first2=G. |last3=Hollum |first3=P. A. D. |year=2001|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Field Guides|isbn=0-618-16675-0 |page=49}}

However, the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus), a winter visitor to parts of the eastern Mediterranean, possesses a 'bugling' call, and has been noted for issuing a drawn-out series of notes as its lungs collapse upon expiry, both being a consequence of an additional tracheal loop within its sternum. This was proposed by naturalist Peter Pallas as the basis for the legend. Both mute and whooper swans appear to be represented in ancient Greek and Egyptian art.

The whooper swan's nearest relatives, the trumpeter and tundra swans, share its musical tracheal loop. Zoologist D.G. Elliot reported in 1898 that a tundra swan he had shot and wounded in flight began a long glide down whilst issuing a series of "plaintive and musical" notes that "sounded at times like the soft running of the notes of an octave".{{cite news |url=http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/2013/01/the-swans-of-nebraska|title=The Swans of Nebraska|work=Prairie Fire|location=USA|date=January 2013|author=Johnsgard, Paul A. |author-link=Paul Johnsgard |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402180913/http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/2013/01/the-swans-of-nebraska |archivedate=2 April 2015}}

The notion that swans sing a final song before dying continued to influence Western culture into the early modern era. For instance, Chaucer's Parlement of Foules contains a reference to "the Ialous swan, ayens his deth that singeth [the jealous swan, that sings at his death]".{{cite book | last = Skeat | first = Walter W. | year = 1896 | title = Chaucer: the Minor Poems | publisher = Clarendon Press |page=86 |url=https://archive.org/details/minorpoems00chaugoog/page/n184}} Leonardo da Vinci also mentioned the legend in his notebooks: "The swan is white without spot, and it sings sweetly as it dies, that song ending its life."{{cite book |editor-last=Richter |editor-first=J. P. |date=2020 |title=The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Complete |author=da Vinci, Leonardo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8151FQ3RH5UC&pg=PA1238 |publisher=Library of Alexandria |isbn=9781465514141 |access-date=19 November 2021 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922071736/https://books.google.com/books?id=8151FQ3RH5UC&pg=PA1238 |url-status=live }}

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Portia exclaims "Let music sound while he doth make his choice; / Then, if he lose, he makes a swan-like end, / Fading in music."[http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merchantvenice#1405 The Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807112853/http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=merchantvenice#1405 |date=7 August 2017 }}. Hosted at Open Source Shakespeare. Similarly, in Othello, the dying Emilia exclaims, "I will play the swan, / And die in music."[http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=othello#3598 Othello, Act 5 Scene 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807113135/http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=othello#3598 |date=7 August 2017 }}. Hosted at Open Source Shakespeare.

A well-known madrigal by Orlando Gibbons, "The Silver Swan", states the legend thus:

{{poemquote|

The silver Swan, who living had no Note,

when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat.

Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,

thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:

"Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!

"More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise."{{sfn|Fellowes|1914|p=i}}

}}

Other poets who have taken inspiration from the legend include Alfred, Lord Tennyson, whose poem "The Dying Swan" is a poetic evocation of the "wild swan's death-hymn";{{cite book |last=Tennyson |first=Alfred |authorlink=Alfred, Lord Tennyson |chapter=The Dying Swan |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8601/pg8601-images.html#chap20 |title=The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson |via=Project Gutenberg |accessdate=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909202648/https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8601/pg8601-images.html#chap20 |url-status=live }}{{sfn|Sword|1992|p=316}} Thomas Sturge Moore's poem of the same name;{{sfn|Sword|1992|p=316}} and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who quipped: "Swans sing before they die— 't were no bad thing / Should certain persons die before they sing."{{cite book |last=Coleridge |first=Samuel Taylor |date=1848 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOnmVITuZkC&pg=PA350 |title=The Poems of S. T. Coleridge |location=London |publisher=William Pickering |page=350 |access-date=8 September 2021 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922071736/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Poems_of_S_T_Coleridge/qSOnmVITuZkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA350 |url-status=live }}

The phrase "swan song" has also taken on a metaphorical sense, referring to the final work of a creative artist, especially when produced shortly before death, or more generally to any final performance or accomplishment.{{cite OED|swansong}} For example, Schwanengesang (Swan Song) is the title of a posthumously published collection of songs by Franz Schubert, written at the end of his life. It is the title usually given to Heinrich Schuetz' Opus 13 from 1671, the year before he died. The term is often applied in a similar way to the works of modern musicians, such as David Bowie's Blackstar,{{cite web |last=Denham |first=Jess |date=11 January 2016 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/david-bowie-dead-swansong-lazarus-takes-poignant-new-meaning-lyrics-and-music-video-a6805571.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/david-bowie-dead-swansong-lazarus-takes-poignant-new-meaning-lyrics-and-music-video-a6805571.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=David Bowie dead: Swansong 'Lazarus' takes on poignant new meaning in lyrics and music video |work=Independent}} Johnny Cash's rendition of Hurt,{{cite book |last1=Blumczynski |first1=Piotr |title=Experiencing Translationality: Material and Metaphorical Journeys |date=2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}} J Dilla's Donuts, Queen's Innuendo{{cite web |last=Senich |first=Eric |date=26 January 2019 |url=https://i95rock.com/remembering-freddie-mercurys-hauntingly-epic-swan-song-queens-innuendo/ |title=Remembering Freddie Mercury's hauntingly epic swan song: Queen's Innuendo |publisher=i95 |access-date=8 September 2021 |archive-date=8 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908183934/https://i95rock.com/remembering-freddie-mercurys-hauntingly-epic-swan-song-queens-innuendo/ |url-status=live }} and Nirvana's rendition of Where Did You Sleep Last Night.

A dramatic or notable achievement by an athlete just prior to their retirement, such as baseball player Derek Jeter's walk-off hit in his final game at Yankee Stadium,{{cite web |last=Hoch |first=Bryan |date=3 January 2015 |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-jeters-swan-song-one-for-the-ages/c-105398418 |title=Jeter's swan song one for the ages |work=MLB.com |access-date=8 September 2021 |archive-date=8 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908183933/https://www.mlb.com/news/derek-jeters-swan-song-one-for-the-ages/c-105398418 |url-status=live }} might also be referred to as their "swan song". An example, in the film industry, is represented by "The Last Movie Star", Rolling Stone referred to the film as Burt Reynolds's "swan song".{{Cite magazine |last=Travers |first=Peter |date=2018-03-30 |title='The Last Movie Star' Review: Burt Reynolds Shines in His Swan Song |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-last-movie-star-review-burt-reynolds-shines-in-his-swan-song-203424/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312102544/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-last-movie-star-review-burt-reynolds-shines-in-his-swan-song-203424/ |url-status=live }} The film was one of Reynolds's last film projects, and he died several months after the film's release.{{Cite web |date=2018-09-06 |title=Burt Reynolds Dies at 82 |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/burt-reynolds-dead-actor-dies-at-82/ |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=Us Weekly |language=en-US |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312102353/https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/burt-reynolds-dead-actor-dies-at-82/ |url-status=live }}

• Death poem

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite journal |last=Arnott |first=W. Geoffrey |author-link=W. Geoffrey Arnott |date=1977 |title=Swan Songs |journal=Greece & Rome |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=149–153 |jstor=642700 |doi=10.1017/S0017383500018441 |s2cid=248519337 }}
• {{cite book |last=Gibbons |first=Orlando |editor-last=Fellowes |editor-first=Edmund Horace |editor-link=Edmund Fellowes |year=1914 |title=Orlando Gibbons: First Set of Madrigals and Motets of Five Parts |section=The Silver Swan |pages=1–3 |series=The English Madrigal School |volume=5 |publisher=Stainer & Bell |location=London |ref={{sfnRef|Fellowes|1914}} |url=https://brittlebooks.library.illinois.edu/brittlebooks_open/Books2009-05/felled0001engmad/felled0001engmadv00005/felled0001engmadv00005.pdf |oclc=16451757 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Sword |first=Helen |author-link=Helen Sword |date=1992 |title=Leda and the Modernists |journal=PMLA |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=305–318 |jstor=462642 |doi=10.2307/462642 }}

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Category:Legends

Category:Swans

Category:Bird sounds

Category:Clytemnestra

Category:Cassandra