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They take apart their bodies like toys for the local boys
Because they're always there at the edge of the water
They come from the capital, these city girls
Go way down where the stones meet the sea
And all you young girls where do you hide
Down by the water, in the restless tide
And the local boys hide on the mound and watch
Reaching for the speech and the word to be heard
And the boys grow hard, hard to be heard
Hard to be heard as they reach for the speech
And search for the word on the water's edge
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yeah you grow old and you grow cold
They would come in their hordes, these city girls
With white strings flowing from their ears
As the local boys behind the mound
Think long and hard about the girls from the capital
Who dance at the water's edge, shaking their asses
And all you young lovers where do you hide
Down by the water, and the restless tide
With a bible of tricks they do with their legs
The girls reach for the speech and the speech to be heard
To be hard, the local boys teem down the mound
And seize the girls from the capitol
Who shriek at the edge of the water
Shriek to speak, and reach for the speech
Reach for the speech and be heard
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yeah you grow old and you grow cold
You grow old
Their legs wide to the world like bibles open
To be speared and taking their bodies apart like toys
They dismantle themselves by the water's edge
And reach for the speech and the wide wide world
Ah, God knows the local boys
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming down, people
Because they're always there at the edge of the water
They come from the capital, these city girls
Go way down where the stones meet the sea
And all you young girls where do you hide
Down by the water, in the restless tide
And the local boys hide on the mound and watch
Reaching for the speech and the word to be heard
And the boys grow hard, hard to be heard
Hard to be heard as they reach for the speech
And search for the word on the water's edge
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yeah you grow old and you grow cold
They would come in their hordes, these city girls
With white strings flowing from their ears
As the local boys behind the mound
Think long and hard about the girls from the capital
Who dance at the water's edge, shaking their asses
And all you young lovers where do you hide
Down by the water, and the restless tide
With a bible of tricks they do with their legs
The girls reach for the speech and the speech to be heard
To be hard, the local boys teem down the mound
And seize the girls from the capitol
Who shriek at the edge of the water
Shriek to speak, and reach for the speech
Reach for the speech and be heard
But you grow old and you grow cold
Yeah you grow old and you grow cold
You grow old
Their legs wide to the world like bibles open
To be speared and taking their bodies apart like toys
They dismantle themselves by the water's edge
And reach for the speech and the wide wide world
Ah, God knows the local boys
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming on
It's the will of love
It's the thrill of love
Ah, but the chill of love is coming down, people
Lyrics submitted by smallwonderrobot
Water's Edge Lyrics as written by Thomas Wydler Nicholas Cave
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Mute Song Limited
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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With this being a Cave song I imagine the song to be much more morose and grim. It might just be a simple scenario of a group of girls, naive and carefree, thinking they're alone, set upon by a group of horny teenagers, raped, perhaps even killed. The bodies coming apart like toys is mentioned twice, first to refer to clothing coming off, then later in a more sinister, perhaps a more way. The "reach for the speech to be heard" is quite evidently a cry for help. The eternal wild hunt, the hunt of men for women, driven mad by lust, tragically and brutally on display.