Knife in the Water formed in Austin, Texas during the Summer of 1997. Aaron… Read Full Bio ↴Knife in the Water formed in Austin, Texas during the Summer of 1997. Aaron Blunt is the band's primary songwriter and lead gutarist, along with Laura Krause who plays organ and often provides back-up vocals. Their line-up also include steel pedal player Bill McCullough and John Brewington on Bass. Their debut album, "Plays One Sound and Others" was self-released in 1998 and garnered them praise within the Austin scene. Their second album, "Red River" was released by Overcoat two years later, which earned them critical attention and an increased fan base. Two EP's followed, released on the Austin based label Peek-A-Boo, and in 2003 their first two albums were reissued on Aspyr Media. In 2003 they
released "Cut the Cord," also on Aspyr.

One Sound
Knife In The Water Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Awake to the smell of a burning home, to a fire clear and aglow, from goldenrod burned Black. I want to fall right back to sleep, to dive back in the sheets, I want to but I can't--When anger outruns my train of thought, I'm freezing cold and caught up in the bramble of my mouth. Well why is it difficult for me to give you room to breathe,do I try to break your health because I can't breathe myself?

One Sound, your density and mine, like a rolling ball of twine soaked in gasoline for a match. Like a fuse that's tied from me to you to go up any second--and it's tighter by the hour.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Knife In The Water's song One Sound describes the feeling of being overwhelmed by negative emotions, such as anger and jealousy. The opening lines convey a sense of helplessness and despair, waking up to the smell of a burning home, which is symbolic of the destruction happening within the singer. The fire is "clear and aglow", representing the intensity of the emotions that are burning inside the singer. The use of the metaphor "goldenrod burned black" adds to the scene's vividness, signifying how something that was once beautiful, is now destroyed.

The second verse deals with the singer's struggles with anger and its consequences. It highlights how anger can overpower one's rational thinking and how it can lead to more trouble. The metaphor "caught up in the bramble of my mouth" illustrates how the singer's words are getting tangled and causing harm instead of helping. The final lines of the verse raise important questions about the singer's behavior towards the person they are addressing. The singer wonders if they are trying to break the other person's health because they themselves can't breathe.

The chorus of the song, "One Sound, your density and mine, like a rolling ball of twine soaked in gasoline for a match," suggests that the relationship between the singer and the person they are addressing is explosive, intense, and volatile. The metaphor of twine soaked in gasoline implies that the smallest spark can set off a huge explosion, and it only keeps getting worse. The use of dark imagery throughout the song creates an unsettling and ominous mood that matches the lyrics' themes.

Line by Line Meaning

Awake to the smell of a burning home, to a fire clear and aglow, from goldenrod burned Black.
I wake up to the smell of something burning, as if a house is on fire, and it's so intense that it seems like the fire is right in front of me. The color of the fire is golden but it's made everything sooty and black.

I want to fall right back to sleep, to dive back in the sheets, I want to but I can't--
Although I want to go back to sleep, snuggling in the sheets, I can't because something is bothering me.

When anger outruns my train of thought, I'm freezing cold and caught up in the bramble of my mouth.
When I get angry beyond control, I freeze and can't articulate what I want to say.

Well why is it difficult for me to give you room to breathe, do I try to break your health because I can't breathe myself?
I wonder if I am suffocating you because I am dealing with my own issues and can't seem to give you space.

One Sound, your density and mine, like a rolling ball of twine soaked in gasoline for a match.
We are alike in that we are tightly wound and explosive, just like a ball of twine soaked in gasoline, ready to ignite.

Like a fuse that's tied from me to you to go up any second--and it's tighter by the hour.
Our relationship is so intense that it seems like a fuse is lit and we might explode at any moment, and it's only getting tighter and more intense with time.

Contributed by Leah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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