Musical and lyrical style The album's music has been described as idiosyncratic. According to David S. Mordoh of
Rockdelux,
Swoon is "a collection of breathless verses and crisp rhythms, with lively acoustic guitar strummed
funk – a fluid combination – and
bossa nova beats draped in symphonic keyboards".
Creem Magazines Karen Schoemer similarly observed how the album's "jumpy playful melodies are fenced in by acoustic guitars and light piano arrangements". while
Mark Ellen of
Smash Hits described "twisting rhythms and strange wistful chords for scenery".
Paul Lester of
The Guardian has summarised the album sound as "the lush sweep of
George Gershwin and complex musicality of
Stephen Sondheim, only played with the awkward angularity of
Captain Beefheart's Magic Band". Sondheim, admired by McAloon for his precise emotional and melodic content, was an influence on the album. Other formative influences include
Igor Stravinsky,
David Bowie,
Karlheinz Stockhausen,
Steely Dan and
Television. Sam Sodomsky of
Pitchfork made note of the album's "
post-punk edge" – which would be abandoned in the band's subsequent work – and highlighted McAloon balancing themes of heartbreak and adulthood with "questions that most songwriters might find trivial," while noting Smith's "wordless refrains and non-sequitur exclamations that took pleasure in twisting expectations."
Thomas Dolby, who produced much of the band's material after
Swoon, named the song as an example of the "literary escapism" he was fascinated by in many of their songs, saying "it was like reading a book but trying to simultaneously piece together a musical puzzle". McAloon would later consider the song to have "too many words". McAloon wrote the song after scrapping another composition concerning
chess, "And Chess Is Beyond Me". and used green because the colour "has an image of innocence or purity". McAloon has said "Here on the Eerie" is a comment on "pop groups who adopt particular attitudes constructed to engage the public when their music isn’t enough" He described himself in a 1985 interview as "cynical about the whole politics-in-pop-music thing", and named the work of Paul Weller and "
Shipbuilding" as examples. The singer compares his lament to
blues music, playing sarcastically on its reputation of sincerity. Musically, these lyrics are set to a "soft
jazz shuffle of brushes and vibes". and was covered by Elvis Costello on his 1984 American tour. Costello praised the song's account of "the perils inherent in expressing a male desire that isn’t oppressive". It was the only song from
Swoon to be performed on the band's 1990 tour and to be included on the band's 1992
compilation album A Life of Surprises: The Best of Prefab Sprout. Martin McAloon attributed "the chords, the endless chords" to the influence of Stravinsky. The song's lyrics are
fatalistic and concern mortality. ==Release==