To me, this song is about grief and how cleansing an act grieving can be. In the song the grief stems from a relationship, but for me that is just a jumping off point. In so much literature, water serves as a stand in for tears and emotion. Like some of the other responses, I agree that the water in this song serves as a baptism, but I have to disagree with others who seem to think that the water is purely a means to "washing pain away." The water IS the pain. That's the irony and paradox at the heart of this song and at the heart of a grief process: that experiencing pain is the antidote, that suffering is the key to solace.
To me, this song is about grief and how cleansing an act grieving can be. In the song the grief stems from a relationship, but for me that is just a jumping off point. In so much literature, water serves as a stand in for tears and emotion. Like some of the other responses, I agree that the water in this song serves as a baptism, but I have to disagree with others who seem to think that the water is purely a means to "washing pain away." The water IS the pain. That's the irony and paradox at the heart of this song and at the heart of a grief process: that experiencing pain is the antidote, that suffering is the key to solace.