Her self-titled debut album, Mathilde Santing, came out in 1982 and she gas released well over fifteen studio albums since, most of them sung in English, although she sometimes performs and records in her mother tongue as well. Known for her whispery and vulnerable vocal style, Santing is a prominent gay role model in The Netherlands. She sang at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam.
Santing's biggest chart success came in 1999 with the lush ballad 'Wonderful Life', which hit #6 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was taken from the 1999 album To Others To One, which is her highest charting album in her native Netherlands to date, reaching #4 in the Dutch album charts.
Water Under the Bridge
Mathilde Santing Lyrics
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Love is a river winding it's course past the shores
Of reaching hands and lonely souls
Don't you know I'm one of those
Can't you see me waving as you sail by so close
I'm moved by your slow motion
That always gets you everywhere on time
I ask you what it leaves behind
You answer
Water under the bridge
You tell me nobody knows
Why everyone is tracking down
That elusive state of heart that comes and goes
Don't you see you're one of those
Can't you feel my urgency to hold you close
I'm moved by your slow motion
That always gets you out of reach on time
I wave goodbye to another ship passed by
I ask you what it leaves behind
And you answer
Water under the bridge
The lyrics to Mathilde Santing's song Water Under the Bridge describe the singer's unrequited love for someone who they feel is out of reach. The opening lines talk about how love is like a river that keeps flowing, passing by those who reach out for it, leaving behind lonely souls. The singer sees themselves as one of those lonely souls, waving at their love interest as they sail by, but never getting close enough to be noticed.
The chorus further illustrates this feeling of unreciprocated love, as the singer asks what their love interest leaves behind as they sail away. The answer they get is "water under the bridge," an idiom that means past events that can't be changed or undone. This could represent the fleeting nature of love and the idea that sometimes, no matter how much you want something, it just isn't meant to be.
Line by Line Meaning
You tell me everything flows
You are informing me that everything is in constant motion
Love is a river winding it's course past the shores
Love can be compared to a river that winds past the shores and encounters different people and situations
Of reaching hands and lonely souls
The river of love touches the hands of some and the souls of others who feel alone
Don't you know I'm one of those
I am one of those lonely souls that the river of love has touched
Can't you see me waving as you sail by so close
I am trying to get your attention and make you aware of my presence as you pass me by
I'm moved by your slow motion
I am affected by your apathetic behavior
That always gets you everywhere on time
But I also acknowledge that your carefree attitude somehow works out for you
I wave goodbye just another ship passed by
I say goodbye to you, recognizing you as just another person in my life
I ask you what it leaves behind
I inquire what impact your passing has on me
You answer
You reply
Water under the bridge
It's already over, and we can't do anything about it now
You tell me nobody knows
You declare that no one really understands
Why everyone is tracking down
Why everyone is seeking
That elusive state of heart that comes and goes
That indescribable and temporary feeling that fills one's heart
Don't you see you're one of those
Can't you recognize that you are also searching for that same feeling?
Can't you feel my urgency to hold you close
Can't you sense that I want to be with you and feel a connection with you?
That always gets you out of reach on time
Your detachment and aloofness seem to always keep you at a distance, no matter what the situation is
Contributed by Liam A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.