The Sorrow's child is not a person (e.g.doesnt hear the water); it is a symbol - the personified Despair, Desolation or Suicidal Thoughts or something like that. The main character of the song is somebody "you" who is weak and despairing, who sits often by the river with this Sorrow's child around but who from time to time has the strength to recover his spirits. However in such cases, the Sorrow's child leads him back again to/into/under the water (again a symbol, hopelessness or proximity to death) or at least brings his tears down again...
The Sorrow's child is not a person (e.g.doesnt hear the water); it is a symbol - the personified Despair, Desolation or Suicidal Thoughts or something like that. The main character of the song is somebody "you" who is weak and despairing, who sits often by the river with this Sorrow's child around but who from time to time has the strength to recover his spirits. However in such cases, the Sorrow's child leads him back again to/into/under the water (again a symbol, hopelessness or proximity to death) or at least brings his tears down again...