swan song

See also: swansong

English

WOTD – 22 March 2006

Alternative forms

• swansong

Etymology

Calque of German Schwanenlied(from Schwan + Lied) or Schwanengesang; from the belief that the mute swan sings before dying.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

swan song (plural swan songs)

1. (idiomatic) A final performance or accomplishment, especially one before retirement.
   • 2020 November 9, Gwen Ihnat, “With McCartney III, Paul McCartney offers lessons from a legendary life”, in The A.V. Club:

     […] McCartney III could mark the end of his recording career. For a musician as continually prolific as McCartney (this is his 18th solo record), that seems unlikely. But if it is indeed a swan song, McCartney III will stand as a proper coda for the singer-songwriter we’ve been listening to for fifty-odd years: sentimental yet strong, a bit wistful, but as always, looking ahead.

Synonyms

• farewell performance
• last hurrah

Translations

a final performance

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: labutí píseň (cs)
• Danish: svanesang (da) c
• Dutch: zwanenzang (nl) m
• Esperanto: cignokanto
• Estonian: luigelaul
• Finnish: joutsenlaulu (fi)
• French: chant du cygne (fr) m
• German: Schwanengesang (de) m
• Greek: κύκνειο άσμα (el) n (kýkneio ásma)
• Hebrew: שירת הברבור‎

• Hungarian: hattyúdal (hu)
• Icelandic: svanasöngur
• Italian: canto del cigno m
• Japanese: 絶唱 (zesshou)
• Korean: 절창 (jeolchang)
• Northern Sami: svanesång
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: svanesang m

  Nynorsk: svanesong m

• Polish: łabędzi śpiew (pl)
• Portuguese: canto do cisne (pt) m, canto de cisne m, canção do cisne f, canção de cisne f
• Russian: лебеди́ная пе́сня (ru) f (lebedínaja pésnja)
• Swedish: svanesång (sv) c