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The Water Lyrics
All that I have is a river
The river is always my home
Lord, take me away
For I just cannot stay
Or I’ll sink in my skin and my bones
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
Please help me build a small boat
One that’ll ride on the flow
Where the river runs deep
And the larger fish creep
I’m glad of what keeps me afloat
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
Now deeper the water I sail
And faster the current I’m in
That each night brings the stars
And the song in my heart
Is a tune for the journeyman’s tale
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
Now the land that I knew is a dream
And the line on the distance grows faint
So wide is my river
The horizon a sliver
The artist has run out of paint
Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the big yellow sun leads me home
I’m everywhere now
The way is a vow
To the wind of each breath by and by
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
The river is always my home
Lord, take me away
For I just cannot stay
Or I’ll sink in my skin and my bones
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
One that’ll ride on the flow
Where the river runs deep
And the larger fish creep
I’m glad of what keeps me afloat
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
And faster the current I’m in
That each night brings the stars
And the song in my heart
Is a tune for the journeyman’s tale
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
And the line on the distance grows faint
So wide is my river
The horizon a sliver
The artist has run out of paint
And the big yellow sun leads me home
I’m everywhere now
The way is a vow
To the wind of each breath by and by
The water can’t drown me, I’m done
With my dying
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I feel this song is about death and going through the stages of leaving the body..the 'bardo' stages (as the Tibetan Buddhist would say). It is about the stage of leaving the body, being done with dying, passing through to the next level where the sea meets the sky, back to the sun and being everywhere.. Can we ask Johnny Flynn what he says its about?
I'm not someone who gets emotional listening to music usually, but this song got tears in my eyes. The second voice by Marling is just perfect. Love it!
"The water can't drown me, I'm done With my dying"
One of the most beautiful things I have EVER heard. Completely genius line right there.
This song seems to me to be about a sense of ennui or an existential crisis. Maybe even a sort of wander lust. The river is his(the narrator's) home, but it's constantly changing, he can't stay in one place or he'll fall into ennui: "Lord take me away/ for I just can not stay/ Or I'll sink in my skin and my bones." The second verse shows how he "goes with the flow" (pardon the awful cliche). The third verse seems to me to be talking baout finding a lack of satisfaction, even with a faster pace or a "deeper" or more interesting life. The narrator just sees it as "A tune for the journeyman's tale." Which reminds me of the line from Macbeth, "Life is a tale told by a fool, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." The song seems to be a person going through his/her life, each verse getting a little older. By verse four everything seems repetitive. the water is so wide you can hardly see the horizon. By verse five, the only landmark left is the Sun. "I'm everywhere now" is probably more metaphorical than literal. Philisophically he's "everywhere." He doesn't have any boundries, but he also doens't have any direction. "The way" means his personal philosophy, his guiding principals. His "way" is a promise to something so ephemeral that it only lasts a second or two. No philosophy sticks for very long. The Chorus feels to me like his apathy towards dying. "The water can't drown me" because I don't care if I live or die. So... yeah. There it is...
u sound like u been through this
u sound like u been through this
I'm not someone who gets emotional listening to music usually, but this song got tears in my eyes. The second voice by Marling is just perfect. Love it!
This is one of my favourite songs ever, the words and music are just perfect to me. This is my wedding waltz song!
So beautiful. Albeit obviously about a song about suicide and facing death as by fate.
That is not at all what I got from it. "The water sustains me without even trying, the water can't drown me I'm done with my dying" It is a positive thing, not death, but that the water (life's journey) has kept him alive and has taken care of him. "The way is a vow to the wind of each breath by and by" it's about fate yes, but I wouldn't say it is about suicide or death. At least that isn't how it seems to me.
That is not at all what I got from it. "The water sustains me without even trying, the water can't drown me I'm done with my dying" It is a positive thing, not death, but that the water (life's journey) has kept him alive and has taken care of him. "The way is a vow to the wind of each breath by and by" it's about fate yes, but I wouldn't say it is about suicide or death. At least that isn't how it seems to me.
I think the meaning is that:
The river is his path to his destiny or dream The water is the essence of his purpose. Wherein when he said "I'm done with my dying" means that he understood and accepted that nothing can stop him even death in achieving his destiny.
Good interpretation connected with "death and stages". What I could doubt, is symbolism of water itself: in many cultures it means "life path" and "faith". This song seems to be a lot about leaving from earthly attachments and finding ourselves in eternal spiritual side of this world.
this song resonates with me after losing a lover to suicide. He or she or they have succumbed to death, they choose to leave this existence, instead of drowning or trying to stay afloat. They let the water take them, or the flood of crisis and unknown, the despair or apathy…the choice is made. Beautiful song.