I think this is a song about regret and restlessness. The singer is looking back on his life and recognizing that he hasn't come as far as he would like. His horizons are still very limited, as though he's sailing a river instead of an ocean. He feels as though time has stopped moving, as though he's stopped growing. The line about "the child who steers this riverboat" could refer to himself, that he feels like in many ways he's still a child. And he "loves that child" in a way, but he's growing restless for more. "He's crazy for the deep." It would make sense that this song was written right before Crosby quit drugs and turned his life around. I've noticed that there are a lot of sailing metaphors in his songs.
I think this is a song about regret and restlessness. The singer is looking back on his life and recognizing that he hasn't come as far as he would like. His horizons are still very limited, as though he's sailing a river instead of an ocean. He feels as though time has stopped moving, as though he's stopped growing. The line about "the child who steers this riverboat" could refer to himself, that he feels like in many ways he's still a child. And he "loves that child" in a way, but he's growing restless for more. "He's crazy for the deep." It would make sense that this song was written right before Crosby quit drugs and turned his life around. I've noticed that there are a lot of sailing metaphors in his songs.