“Dear Jack,” a documentary exploring Andrew McMahon’s struggles against cancer,
while trying to put out a record is a vulnerable piece, yet when filled with hope. Narrated by Tommy Lee and made mostly of video filmed by McMahon himself, this piece offers a remarkably refreshing look on life that is something all should see. PopWreckoning’s Sara, recently saw the film and offers a more detailed review and description here.
While “Dear Jack” is currently available to purchase at Jack’s Mannequin’s site (which I do recommend doing), we do have one DVD package to give away.
To win a “Dear Jack” package including a “Dear Jack” poster, DVD and a “Swim” art book, simply comment and tell us what “Swim” means to you before Friday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. CDT. We’ll then pick a winner.
Please use a valid email address when entering. Must be a U.S. resident to enter (sorry to our far away readers).
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Thanks to all who entered! Your responses were wonderful. This contest is now closed.
Jack’s Mannequin: website | myspace | interview 2009 | @ kegs and eggs | @ midland theatre | @ sokol underground | interview with pt. 1 | interview with pt. 2 | dear jack review
The song “Swim” by Jack’s Mannequin means everything to me. I have been a longtime fan of Andrew Mcmahon and Jack’s Mannequin and love everything they have done, but this song really hit home to me. Throughout life, I have gone through many struggles that left me feeling hopeless, and like I wanted to give up. When this song came out, I listened to it for the first time and realized that this song was speaking to me, and was probably speaking out to many other people that have felt alone and wanted to give up on everything. The lines “Find the horizon I promise you it’s not as hard as you think” are my favorite because they show that although you may not see the bright side now..there is always a better time coming and that if you give up you won’t ever get to see the horizon. Recently I lost my grandfather, and I felt alone. Listening to this song daily helped me to realize that I could make it through, and that I would not let myself sink. Swim is now one of my favorite song..because the message it conveys is so relatable. Everytime I am feeling upset and troubled and feel like I cannot make it through the day, I put it on and it instantly empowers me to make the best of it. Thank you, Jack’s Mannequin for this beautiful song.
The day I heard “Swim”, I realized that I found my anthem. Never before had I heard a song that related to so many aspects of my life. Since I was a child, I had this attitude that everything would work out. I remember being sick in the hospital when I was eight. I was running an ultra-high temperature and was severely dehydrated and my primary care doctors were stumped. I could tell that my parents were worried and upset despite their positive attitudes. I wasn’t told much of what was going on, and I instantly believed that I was dying. I sat next to my mother in waiting room after waiting room as they ran tests on me, and it occured to me that even if I did die, I was alive at that moment and I was going to be happy for the time that I had.
Obviously, I was fine, but twelve years later I still hold this philosophy and I believe that “Swim” is about that intense optimism and ability to hold your head up high above all else. It rings true today in two very different aspects of my life.
First, I am engaged to a wonderful man. We have been together for quite a few years now, but we have unfortunately had to deal with a long-distance relationship after initially meeting on the ‘net. Some days, the distance just seems impossible. I have had a rough year, and it’s painful when I just need a hug or a shoulder to cry on, but that person is 200 miles away and I won’t be able to see him for a month. Even something as simple as falling asleep without him is very difficult at times. I know that my situation may not be perfect, but as “Swim” states – “the currents will pull you away from your love, just keep your head above”. And I have. Whenever I feel helpless in my situation, I plug in my headphones and let my mind escape into this song and, particularly, this line of this song.
More recently and more importantly, though, this song has brought me hope. Recently, a family member was diagnosed with cancer. When I heard this news, I felt helpless. I didn’t have the answers for once and there didn’t feel like I could do anything at all. As I listened to this song for the first time after the diagnosis, a big weight was lifted off of me because it occured that I don’t have to just sit there and wait for bad news to unfold. I was reminded of why the song was likely written – Andrew’s own battle with cancer – and that he did not just sit to the side and play victim to cancer. I was already registered under Team Jack’s Mannequin for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night walk, but up until that date I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have. The revelation that “Swim” gave me allowed me to not only raise about $500, but also to be the captain of my leg of the team. Five of us raised over $2000.
So really, “Swim” is everything to me. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel and the reminder that there is always hope and happiness even in what seem to be the dimmest situations.
I discovered Jack’s Mannequin about two weeks after my grandma died of cancer. I was at my friends house, and she was shuffling her iPod. The song “Into The Airwaves” from the first Jack’s album came on and she yelled “OOOHH!! This is a good song!”. I looked up the band, and listened to some of their songs. I became hooked.
I looked up the band. This lead me to Andrew’s story. I couldn’t believe it. He had SURVIVED leukemia. In my mind if you got cancer you died. My great uncle died because of it. My best friend’s aunt died of it. My grandma had just died due to cancer, but this incredible musician had survived it!
Then I bought the second album. “Swim” immediately jumped at me, especially the lyric “I swim for brighter days despite the absence of sun”. It made me remember that just because my grandma had died I still needed to push through life, even though I was in a bad spot. It was like the candle in the dark. That song and that album pulled me through the dark, and as the song says I found the horizon. I still miss my grandma dearly, and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of her, but I know that without a bright outlook you definitely can’t get through life. You HAVE to swim, for your friends, family, job, passions, EVERYTHING. So, I guess to me Swim represents a motive to get through the good and bad in life.
Swim to me means Persevere. Nothing less, Nothing more
“SWIM” to me is very simple. it means no matter what happens to you, you just have to keep on going and staying positive along the way. Wether you develop a life threatening sickness, or you just had a bad day, the only way to get through it is to just find the positive in the situation, every day is a life changing experience, better make it good!
I think Swim is a clever metaphor that Andrew through together to have dual meanings. It means whatever the listener interprets it as. To me it represents facing the current off life and overcoming an struggles in the way. I also wonder if it has anything to do with his tattoo, “The river is everywhere,” and furthermore how it ties into River Apparel
To me, swim means persevere. Keep going no matter what, in all aspects of life. When I find myself overwhelmed with the amount of tests and papers and homework I have, and I just want to drop out of school, I think of Swim and know that I just have to get through the rough patch, and then I’ll be okay. When I get into fights with my friends, I know that I need to let my anger go and forgive them, as they are my anchors most of the time. When I find myself wanting to quit a cross country race because the stitch in my side is too much, I know that I have to keep running and finish the race. I keep swimming, even when it hurts.
Swim to me, means to fight. No matter what, you have to fight to survive. I used to swim competitively, and the pain associated with long distances it brutal, just like some experiences in life are extremely painful. However, you must go on, or “Swim” If you quit swimming, life is over. Even when you are not sure you will survive, as in the case of Andrew, he never gave up. He kept swimming, and fighting, just as the rest of us should.
to me swim means to just keeping going, although sometimes it will be hard you just have to go and not give up.
Swim to me just means to never give up, no matter what the circumstances might be. Even when the world throws you a couple curve balls, its just swimming, and striving toward your goal, whether it be survival or overcoming a fear, its the journey you take to reach where you want to be. While for Andrew his personal battle with cancer inspired swim, swim isn’t just for people facing death it’s a way to size up your life when you have difficult choices to make and their are mountains in your way. You just gotta swim…
“Swim” means taking all of the sh-t that life throws at you, persevering through it all and turning it into something positive. Circumstances suck, but life never does. Even if you feel like you’re in over your head, as long as you fight for whatever you believe in, strive for the things you want, and endure through all the mess, in the end, you’ll be able to look back and say “Yep… I survived that.” That’s what it means to “swim.”
Swim. Find a way through–through the calm waters and the rough, through quiet streams and roaring rivers. Just keep your head above. You don’t have to be a hero. You don’t have to be unaffected by hardship. You just have to not let the hardships overcome your will to survive, because the will to survive is stronger than anything else.
As someone who suffers from depression, I am amazed at the power a single song can have on a person’s life. The first time I heard Swim, I was blown away. Here was someone who knew what I needed to hear. Finally someone–someone who didn’t even know me or my situation–was telling me exactly what I needed to hear:
“Just keep your head above.” I didn’t have to be a superhero and magically cure myself of this illness. I just had to make it day by day, and not let myself drown in misery, even though it would be the easier way out.
“Find the horizon, I promise you it’s not as far as you think.” There is something better coming. I know there are infinite interpretations of this line for others, but for me it promises me that there will come a day when I will heal, and will find someone to love me unconditionally, flaws and all. A time will come when I am happy with myself and my life, and it’s worth fighting the currents now to get that time.
This song gives me such hope, and has pushed me to strive for a better life for myself, one where I can love myself and let others love me as well. I haven’t reached it, but “I’m not giving in. I swim.”
The first time I ever heard Andrew McMahon’s voice was in fifth grade, seven years ago. I was at my friend’s house and her brother was blasting Something Corporate. From the minute I heard the song, which I later figured out to be “Punk Rock Princess” I fell in love with Andrew’s voice, his music and it’s meaning, and the people his songs inspire.
The first Jack’s Mannequin album became the soundtrack to my high school years. Whatever I was feeling, Andrew had a song that could perfectly compliment my mood. When The Glass Passenger was released, I’ll admit, which is hard because I am such a huge fan, I was a little skeptical. I was so used to the sounds of his previous album that I was scared that I would not fall in love with the new CD as I had with his last. Then…I was browsing online one day and came across his Myspace. I was ecstatic when I learned that a new song was put up… “Swim.” I held my breath as I readied myself to start the music. As I listened, I could not believe what I was hearing. From the first line, “You gotta swim, swim for your life, swim for the music that saves you when you’re not so sure you’ll survive” I felt a pride swell up inside of me. As the song went on, I felt this pride swell up even more until I got to the point where I had tears in my eyes. I knew that I had found the song I had been waiting for.
From a very young age, I struggled with anxiety and depression. I would at times feel as if I had nothing to live for, and feel as though I could not push through any longer. When I felt like this, I was unable to see that I would overcome these feelings and hardships. I’ve always been extremely hard on myself…and now this song was telling me… “Find the horizon, I promise you it’s not as hard as you think.” This song was telling me that I had so much to “swim” for, and that I could and WOULD make it through if I just “keep my head above.”
Ever since this song has been released, I have listened to it over 150 times on my iTunes. It is the song I keep coming back to because the message is so simple, yet so POWERFUL and clear…it is the push that I need to make it through the hardest of days. I can’t thank Andrew enough for writing this song..it has TRULY inspired me, and spoke to me, as I’m sure it has to the many, many, fans of his. It is amazing how one piece of music can impact the lives of so many people. Despite the absence of sun, I will continue to swim for brighter days.
“Swim.” It’s a song that has a quality that not many songs have nowadays, which is that it’s timeless. It could be heard one hundred years ago or a hundred years into the future and its ideas would remain just as relevant as it does today. Whether or not you’ve heard Andrew’s story, we’ve all had a point of turmoil that has broken us physically or emotionally. “Swim” musically and lyrically lifts spirits in a manner I have never felt before. There is no such thing as losing all hope with this song. While we are being constantly shot down by the demons of our past and present this song pushes us to never quit. No matter what life throws at you, you’ve got to believe that you’re stronger than you know. It’s easy to appreciate and respect what Andrew has created with the song “Swim,” as it conveys ideas that speak to you when you need it most. The images formed throughout this song are a perfect metaphor to the message. No matter what losses we’ve had that seem pull us down, what we’ve got left is still good enough stay above water. We could still get through even if the odds seem against us. It’s the encouragement helping us to move forward to reach the end of a journey. “Swim” encompasses the pure idea of living life. It’s worth fighting for. I’ve had Andrew’s music in my life for almost a decade. Yet it isn’t necessary to have followed his discography to be uplifted by his words and passion. It’s a song that I’ve recommended to people who have never heard of Andrew and its effect on people is always the same. They feel connected to this stranger letting us know that we’re all fighting some sort of battle and that we are not alone. As the song slowly ends, I always find myself breathing easier. It has that effect on me. And it probably has that effect on a lot of people. You feel extraordinary as if you’ve been given the embrace you’ve been waiting for. We are human, indecisive and doubtful, yet “Swim” gets us back on our feet, ready for anything. And from that moment on, you remember that you’re stronger than you know. We all are.
“Swim” to me means, keeping your head held high. I have grown up with alot of confidence problems. I think alot of it has to do with my dad. He told me I was never going to go anywhere in my life. He told me I was never going to graduate high school, and that I was going to live in his basement for the rest of my life. Also he has told me that I have gained weight. I have defyed him. I graduated high school (my dad actually was a drop out), I left his house, I live with my mom now. I am going to be so much more than he said I was going to be. I am Swimming, without giving in to what he says. This song gives me hope.
Who won this..