I must be
One of the devil's daughters
They look at me with scorn
I'll never hear their horn
Sometimes it's like chains
Sometimes I hang my head in shame
When people see me
They scandalize my name I'm going down
To the devil's water
I'm gonna drown

In that troubled water
It's coming round my soul
It's way beyond control
I must be one
I must be one
I must be

One of the devil's daughters
They look at me with scorn
I'll never hear their horn
Sometimes it's like
Being in chains
Sometimes I hang my head in shame
When people see me
They scandalize my name
I'm going down
To the devil's water
I'm gonna drown

In that troubled water
It's coming round my soul
It's way beyond control
I must be one
I must be one
I must be


Lyrics submitted by perfectandslow

Troubled Waters Lyrics as written by Sam Coslow Arthur Johnston

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Troubled Waters (Mae West cover) song meanings
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7 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    im not really sure what she means but to me its about how you care so much about pleasing others and not being able to show your true self because your scared of other people's judgements and finally its so hard you want to give up and you see satisfaction in drowning, leaving behind everything that worries you

    juliUGHon July 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    guilty conscience?

    autophobiason September 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It is so haunting. I have always thought it was about how people always want to talk and gossip about you. And she is just about to give up.

    gatsbycab4cutieon November 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
     This one is on the covers record, but I think it's just a traditional song. I can't find any info on where the song originated.
    
    I feel like it's about being a victim of extreme prejudice.
    ninety6tearson January 04, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    actually this is a song from Mae West's 1934 movie The Belle of the Nineties.

    beckyladyon July 23, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    i heard this song at the last episode of "the honourable woman" and i think it fits the character of nessa stein so well. she tries so hard to do good but somehow it seems that mostly a lot of bad things are happening to her. so maybe she is asking herself, how can this be? how do i deserve this? and maybe she is answering to herself with this:... i must be the devils daughter. and maybe somehow she really is.or she thinks of her father as the devil - at least she tries so hard to do better than her father. but then so often, she will be confronted with the sins of her father. and it seems, she cannot escape them. and maybe they are not her sins, but she inherited them and she was fed by them and then sometimes she is drowning in them: she was trying so hard to do the right thing and to fight for the good cause and not being compromised. but at some point it is just too hard - no one can be an angel all the time. and if you are trying so hard for soo long at some point the whole big "holy building" may just crash and the troubled water will be all around your soul and way beyond your control.

    stefanie10on October 19, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The line "I'll never hear their horn" might refer to the angel Gabriel, whose trumpet is said to herald the day of judgment.

    robertfdeon December 19, 2016   Link

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