"Swim Good" is a song by American singer Frank Ocean, released as the second single from his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra (2011).
The anime-inspired music video features Ocean driving down remote roads in a Samurai costume and eventually setting his car on fire.
"Swim Good" was written by Frank Ocean, Waynne Nugent and Kevin Risto of the duo Midi Mafia, who also produced the track.
[5][6] The track has been called an "astonishing suicide song" and that "Ocean finds himself dressed in black ('Like I'm ready for a funeral'), tormented by heartbreak and on the verge of driving his car into the sea.
"[3] "Swim Good" received positive reviews from music critics and was widely considered to be one of the best tracks off Nostalgia Ultra.
[8][9][5] Sam Hockley-Smith of The Fader commented that "Swim Good" was one of the "highs off of record", as did Anthony Osei of Complex magazine.
"[11] NPR's Andrew Noz commented that "in the standout "Swim Good," he sings of putting broken hearts in the trunk of a Lincoln Town Car and driving to the ocean as they bleed through.
[16] The Fader commented that "Elderkin serves up a fairly literal interpretation of “Swim Good,” Nostalgia, Ultra‘s most heart-wrenching metaphor.
"[17] The video features "Frank Ocean and his samurai sword star" and it "blends Asian and aquatic vibes with impressive cinematography.
"[19] In the closing moments, "viewers are lead [sic] to believe that the mystery woman was also the passenger of the rear compartment" and the video ends when the "camera zooms in on Ocean's blood-stained sword.
[23] Complex magazine stated the audience "sang every word of ULTRA’s suicidal serenade “Swim Good,” which closed with the same seagull chirps it does on the tape.