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Swans mate for life and their supposed silent nature until their death has led to the metaphor of a “swan song” for a final significant performance or presentation. This can apply to anyone, not just artists, and can be intentional or retrospective. The idea that swans are silent is a myth, as they have a vocal range and can be aggressive when threatened.
There the beauty, grace and mystery of swans have intrigued the human world for many millennia. Some of the rumors regarding the inner life of swans are true. For example, they mate for life, which makes them seem higher and more noble than humans, who often entertain multiple partners at once. Other rumors aren’t so true; the swans are supposedly silent, remaining silent until the hour of their death, when they throw back their sinuous necks and sing a song of heartbreaking beauty. The swan song idiom is based on this mythology and denotes the final significant position, presentation, or performance that an individual makes before leaving a job, marriage, or other important, long-term situation.
Singing one’s swan song might be intentional, like an opera singer’s magnificent final project that is the culmination of a lifetime of performing. This type of song is meant to leave an impression that does not fade with time but, like the mythical swan song, grows brighter with each tale. A swan song isn’t limited to artistic types, though the term is certainly used often in reference to someone retiring into the world of theatre, dance, or art.
Businessmen, teachers, practically anyone is entitled to such a song that marks the passage of time, marking the profound importance that the situation one is left with once played along with bittersweet regret and deep joy. The retired college professor whose final lecture is standing room only, the minister or rabbi who manages to build a magnificent new house of worship just before stepping down, and the politician who finishes a major but unsupported community project with little help just as the term ends are all swan songs worth listening to. In fact, anyone with a life worth living will likely sing this final song at some point.
A swan song is not always intentionally choreographed. Sometimes, the song is only retrospectively recognized. Someone who has been caught cheating on the job or is publicly embarrassed, the butt of ridicule, or the subject of gossip might have a latest professional or public effort gain the tongue-in-cheek status of a swan song, especially if that effort was less than spectacular.
However, the metaphor has infiltrated the world of literature. While poets like Shakespeare and Coleridge sang the dying song of the swan, it was hyperbole, and they knew it. Natural scientists have known for a long time that swans aren’t really dumb, just not big talkers. Each species has a vocal range that people tend to ignore, appreciating the myth that creatures are silent for life by choice. Of course, anyone who has ever met a swan knows that, for all its grace and elegance, it has no problem pursuing an intruder in a very menacing fashion, rolling its neck and hissing loudly through its beaked nose.
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