On the banks of a sunset beach
Messages scratched in sand
Beneath a roaming home of stars
Young boys try their hand
A spanish harbouring of sorts
In catalonian bars
They were pulled from a sinking ship
And saved for last

On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains

Watch the train steam full ahead
As it takes the bend
Empty carriages lose their tracks
And tumble to their end
So the world shrinks drop by drop
As the wine goes to your head
Swollen angels point and laugh
"This time your god is dead"

On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains

Is our love strong enough?


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Waterfront Lyrics as written by David Sylvian

Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION

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Waterfront song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is so amazing. It was the first song I ever heard by Sylvian, and it is still my absolute favorite of his works. I really can't say for sure, but this song always makes me think of how sad humanity and its creations really are. Sad, as in how much we strive for happiness but end up drinking our sorrows away, and how highly we regard material things, but they really only have value because we give them value. Yeah, that was pretty much just a brainspill. Don't mind me.

    Kagerouon January 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I have heard this song a lot, and thought about the (mysterious) lyrics. A fair amount of wistfulness and vagueness is typical of a Sylvian song. This collects some images focusing on a waterfront. A setting sun, a sinking ship, a starry sky, people hanging around in bars. The singer walks along the beach, remembering things and feeling sad. Then, jarringly, comes the image of a train falling off a mountainside, but the carriages are empty, so no one has died. There is another reference to drinking alcohol and the statement that your god is dead this time. The singer wonders if "our love" is strong enough - but is he referring to a romantic relationship he is in, or is it more abstract, like human love, everyone's love? Beautiful, haunting music, and a fascinating song.

    Dreadnowton September 29, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Thinking some more about these lyrics - they seem to me essentially spiritual in nature. The train falling off the track is another image of futility, of something ending in dissolution. The lines "So the world shrinks drop by drop / And the wine goes to your head" are key. I used to think this was something else - "So the world's dream string I draw" (lol). Here the singer is drinking up the world, and it is going to his head. He fell for the world's lies, it has led him on, and while he is aware of this it has still left a mark on him. I think the last line is the collective "our love" (not a reference to a romantic relationship) - is our love strong enough to do what? It is a little unclear, but perhaps overcome the world's illusions.

    Dreadnowton September 30, 2016   Link

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