John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksing… Read Full Bio ↴John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His twenty-four recordings have garnered every imaginable honor, including five Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. And his commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.

from the artist's Web site

The Water Is Wide
John Mccutcheon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The water is wide
I can't cross over
And neither have
I wings to fly
Build me a boat
That can carry two
And both shall row
My love and i

There is a ship
And she sails the sea
She's loaded deep
As deep can be
But not so deep
As the love I'm in
I know not how
I sink or swim

Oh love is handsome
And love is fine
The sweetest flower
When first it's new
But love grows old
And waxes cold
And fades away
Like summer dew

Build me a boat
That can carry two
And both shall row
My love and i

And both shall row
My love and i

Overall Meaning

In John Mccutcheon's song, The Water Is Wide, a narrator laments about being separated from their loved one by a vast, unpassable body of water. They express their inability to cross over without wings to fly, symbolizing the magnitude of the divide between them. The singer pleads for a boat to be built, on which they and their love can both row and be reunited.

The song's message is that love is a force that can help overcome even the most difficult of obstacles, but only if both parties contribute equally to the effort. The singer relies on their own determination and the strength of their love to power them toward their goal. They describe love in various stages, from the bright, new flower it is in the beginning, to how it can grow old and dim over time, like summer dew.

The song's repeating chorus, "Build me a boat that can carry two, and both shall row my love and I," highlights the importance of partnership and mutual effort in overcoming obstacles. The singer is not asking for help, but instead yearns for their loved one to join them in the quest to cross the water and be together once more.

Line by Line Meaning

The water is wide
The body of water in front of me is vast and impassable

I can't cross over
I am unable to cross the water to reach the other side

And neither have I wings to fly
I don't have the ability to fly across the water

Build me a boat that can carry two
Please construct a vessel that would be able to transport two people over the water

And both shall row my love and I
Both my love and I will row the boat ourselves to reach the other side

There is a ship
I see a large vessel on the sea

And she sails the sea
The ship is travelling across the ocean

She's loaded deep
The ship is carrying a lot of cargo, making it sit lower in the water

As deep can be
The ship is carrying as much as it possibly can

But not so deep as the love I'm in
However, the ship is not carrying anything as heavy as the burden of love that I feel

I know not how I sink or swim
I am uncertain whether the intensity of my love will drown me or help me overcome obstacles

Oh love is handsome
Love is attractive and desirable

And love is fine
Love is delicate and graceful

The sweetest flower when first it's new
At the beginning, love is like the most pleasant and fragrant flower

But love grows old and waxes cold
Over time, love becomes less vibrant and loses its warmth

And fades away like summer dew
Eventually, love will disappear like the dew evaporates in the summer sun

And both shall row my love and I
Once again, my love and I will have to work together to overcome this challenge of the vast water

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Bob Dylan

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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