The River

After reading these lyrics, this one thought haunted me, the thought there had to be some mythology behind it. So I did some research.

"Follow your heart to the water Fill your pockets with stone"

This verse refers to the suicide of Virginia Woolf, British author and feminist. he was a very unstable person due to certain life experiences. At the age of 59 she commited suicide by filling her pockets with stone and walking into the river Ouse, nearby her house. She left a suicide note to her husband saying it was for the better if she weren't there anymore because she felt like she was a burden to him. She wrote she thought she was going crazy, that she was hearing voices and couldn't bare the weight on her shoulders anymore. She followed her heart into the water, because her gutfeeling said it was for the better.

"Throw your arms around me Never let me go"

Water is often used to refer to a new life or a loss. Her death awaited her in that river, she was searching for peace. She wanted the water to wrap it's arms around her, and let her find the rest she deserved.

All by all, I don't think it's a song written for Virginia Woolf. Most likely the story was used as a metaphore for a suicide.

What comes after the first verse, supports the interpretation of the suicide.

"It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years" My interpretation of this one sentence is that it doesn't count how long this person has lived, but obviously all that has happened in that persons life. 'It's the life that happened to you in these years you've lived'

Also I think there are 2 people speaking in these lyrics.

"Follow your heart to the water Fill your pockets with stone Throw your arms around me Never let me go" Could be referring to voices in the victims head, telling her to end it all. Telling her to let the water embrace her until her final breath.

"You were the first; you wouldn't be the last. What the river took, we could never replace And as the pain set in, so did the realization That you were never coming home..." The second verse is the one who suffers from te loss. Not comprehending what just happened, having the greatest heartache he's ever experienced.

"Sink into me Hold our your hands, sink into me Hold out your hands, I'll take you away Hold out your hands, surrender the weight of this world" Again her inner voice, letting the river speak to her. The river saying to her, it's okay, sink into me, I'll take you to the place you want to be, I'll be the one taking your burdens of your shoulders. Just hold out your hand and give them to me, I'll take you away.

I'm truly intrigued by this song, and certainly now I've analized it. Once you realize the story behind the words, it's like a kind of magic blowing your mind away and turning a gold song into a true diamond.

I think this is Pwds song for Dylan Etherington who directed some of the first DVD and died while swimming in a strong flowing river overseas

All of Deep Blue is also dedicated to his memory

I think the song is referencing someone killing themself. "Follow your heart to the water, fill your pockets with stone" the person obviously weighing down their body with the stone. The writer is saying go do what you have to do but adds "Throw your arms around me, never let me go" saying take me with you, I want to be with you forever.

I think "Hold out your hands, surrender the weight of this world" backs that up. Surrender the weight of this world, take your life, take me with you.

It creates a very emotive picture of 2 lovers embracing as they plunge into depths where they will die together and be together forever "never let me go".

That's how I see it anyway.

The river is a metaphor for life. "Follow your heart to the water", or, do what you think is right for your life. Follow your heart through life. But then he stipulates this by saying, "Fill your pockets with stone" so as to say, sink to the bottom of the river, or in other words, stay where you are in life. Don't move along down the river/through life and leave me. "Throw your arms around me, never let me go".

In short, it's just about being left by someone you love.

Having never gone through the pain of having someone close to me take their life with their own hand I can't fully relate with this song but the lyrics haunt me. They are so beautifully written. I get butterflies especially at that small solo at the end and coupled with Winston McCall's absolutely amazing vocals throughout the song. I can literally (and have) play this song on repeat for days on end and still gives me the same feeling as from when I first listened to it

Great point, AlexAsura, on the Virginia Woolf reference! It adds a whole new layer to the song. The band did an interview with AP and said the following:

"This song is about death. It is a narrative about the passing of a close friend of the band and what we went through during this time. The gospel vocals you hear on the record are sung as the character of death. I wanted it to be beautiful. Death is something most people fear, and yet it is a constant in this life. We fear it because we don't know anything else but life. Death is the ultimate question, but it is also the ultimate release. Every person I have lost in this life, I feel grateful for having known, but no one lives in vain. How do we judge our lives? A friend once told me, "It's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years." and life and death are what you make of them."

Sounds like someone (the writter ) had lose a loved one in the river (duh..xD) and they never knew something about him/her