This version of Amnesia is a rearrangement of the identically-named Swans song Amnesia from their 1992 album Love Of Life. It presents itself as a slower, softer and a very symphonic song compared to its fierce post-punk counterpart, yet still retains its impact. There are minor lyric changes between the two.

Michael Gira has had a weird fascination and attachment to the song, and experimented with a new arrangement of Amnesia on tour since early 2016, soon after the release of The Glowing Man.

I’m using the words from the song “Amnesia” (from 1992’s Love of Life) but the music is completely different.

This was further developed throughout his solo tours afterward, becoming a common opener of his 2018 tour. In a similar vein, “God Damn The Sun” (from The Burning World) was considered for a rearrangement for the album, and is present on the original sketch list for What Is This?, but was dropped for unknown reasons.