River, river, carry me on
Living river, carry me on
River, river, carry me on
To the place where I come from
So deep, so wide, will you take me on your back for a ride
If I should fall, would you swallow me deep inside
River, show me how to float, I feel like I'm sinking down
Thought that I could get along
But here in this water, my feet won't touch the ground
I need something to turn myself around
Going away, away toward the sea
River deep, can you lift up and carry me
Oh roll on through the heartland
'Til the sun has left the sky
River, river, carry me high
'Til the washing of the water, make it all alright
Let your waters reach me, like she reached me tonight
Letting go, it's so hard, the way it's hurting now
To get this love untied
So tough to stay with this thing, cos if I follow through
I face what I denied
I'll get those hooks out of me
And I'll take out the hooks that I sunk deep in your side
Kill that fear of emptiness, that loneliness I hide
River, oh river, river running deep
Bring me something that will let me get to sleep
In the washing of the water will you take it all away
Bring me something to take this pain away
Living river, carry me on
River, river, carry me on
To the place where I come from
So deep, so wide, will you take me on your back for a ride
If I should fall, would you swallow me deep inside
River, show me how to float, I feel like I'm sinking down
Thought that I could get along
But here in this water, my feet won't touch the ground
I need something to turn myself around
Going away, away toward the sea
River deep, can you lift up and carry me
Oh roll on through the heartland
'Til the sun has left the sky
River, river, carry me high
'Til the washing of the water, make it all alright
Let your waters reach me, like she reached me tonight
Letting go, it's so hard, the way it's hurting now
To get this love untied
So tough to stay with this thing, cos if I follow through
I face what I denied
I'll get those hooks out of me
And I'll take out the hooks that I sunk deep in your side
Kill that fear of emptiness, that loneliness I hide
River, oh river, river running deep
Bring me something that will let me get to sleep
In the washing of the water will you take it all away
Bring me something to take this pain away
Lyrics submitted by Novartza
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The words describe how he is trying very hard to stop thinking about it, and to think instead about water, about how it can calm, and heal, and lift and buoy...but then he re-triggers himself when he sings about the water reaching him "like she reached me tonight." And then, the 'floodgates' open, as he tells the truth about letting the relationship go, and the music crescendoes to coincide with the story of this massive pain he feels.
After that, the music calms back down again, but now he's a little more honest and less metaphorical: he asks the water to bring him something to help him sleep, and finally, and most honestly of all, he asks the water, as it washes, to take away his pain.
Mr. Gabriel says in the liner notes to the song's album, "Us," that every song on the album is about relationships. This one is no exception.
One of my top five favorite songs of all time. Whenever I decide to give this a listen, I end up pushing 'repeat' on my car CD player as a kneejerk reaction, over and over, without even thinking about it.
10. Make contact or communicate with (someone) by telephone or other means
- I've been trying to reach you all morning
(And, I couldn't help noticing, the date you posted that comment was the same day I went to my first rock concert. Very random, but there you go.)
It's a decision point, will he wash away his pain, or wash away his life? Water can do one metaphorically, and one literally.
What can turn a person around? Hope. Or just the decision not to jump. Sometimes, it can be harder to choose to let go of the pain, to choose to live.
I love the sudden crescendo around the middle- "Letting go... it's so hard, the way it's hurting now..." That's what really gets me. Those lines are sung so painfully, so vulnerable I think... Very emotional song.
I think it's about, well, letting go of the past, asking for the river to metaphorically heal the wounds.