Oats in the Water Lyrics

Lyric discussion by iNad 

Cover art for Oats in the Water lyrics by Ben Howard

As I read it, it is neither about the cocaine nor gold production. Not about pregnancy either. Although, in a specific context the lyrics might actually fit to any of these situations, as the problems are to come independent on what you do. But for me this is mainly about the hard stuff in relationships.

King Midas is used only as a popular reference here. In general it is about life, which everyone has to live their own way and about the hard things which are inevitable to come.

Go your way I'll take the long way 'round I'll find my own way down As I should

  • everyone has his/her own way to follow, it is up to each and everyone to choose which way to go

And hold your gaze There's coke in the Midas touch A joke in the way that we rust And breathe again

  • just listen to me and look closer, nothing in life is perfect, and nothing is a total tragedy, there are things considered precious (gold) but they still have imperfections in them, there are things considered sad and tragic but somehow there is some irony and humor in it, fully realizing for how short a moment we are here and what is going to happen with our bodies, now just continue your life knowing all this

And you'll find loss And you'll fear what you found When the weather comes Tearing down

  • life will never be completely easy, you will see bad things happen and the storms are to come, in relationship you will discover things about your lover that will be hard for you to accept, but this is the way life and love go

There'll be oats in the water There'll be birds on the ground There'll be things you never asked her Oh how they tear at you now

  • what the storms can cause - when the oats growing on the field lay down in mud and water, there is not much to be done, the crop is basically destroyed, birds on the ground after the storm are usually dead or hurt, things you never asked "her" (this is the core verse for me) are the tough things in the relationship, they tear at you when you learn them, just like when you see the crops destroyed and birds dead, but that is the way life goes and there is an irony in every tragedy when you listen to the lyrics repeated