Everything's Turning to White
Paul Kelly Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Late on a Friday, my husband went up
To the mountains with three friends
They took provisions and bottles of bourbon
To last them all through the weekend
One hundred miles they drove
Just to fish in a stream
And there's so much water, so close to home
When they arrived, it was cold and dark
They set up their camp quickly
Warmed up with whiskey, they walked to the river
Where the water flowed past darkly
In the moonlight they saw the body
Of a girl floating face down
And there's so much water, so close to home

When he holds me now, I'm pretending
I feel like I'm frozen inside
And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
Everything's turning to white

It was too hard to tell how long she'd been dead
The river was that close to freezing
But one thing for sure
The girl hadn't died very well to judge from the bruising
They stood there above her all thinking
The same thoughts at the same time
There's so much water, so close to home

So this is what they did
They carried her downstream from their fishing
Between two smooth rocks, they gently wedged her
After all, it was late, and they'd come a long way
The girl would keep, she was going nowhere
They stayed up there fishing for two days
They reported it on Sunday when they came back down
There's so much water, so close to home

When he holds me now, I'm pretending
Nothing is working inside
And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
Everything's turning to white

The newspapers said that the girl had been strangled
To death and also molested
On the day of the funeral the radio reported
That a young man had been arrested
I went to the service a stranger
I drove past the lake out of town
There's so much water, so close to home

When he holds me now I'm pretending
I feel like I'm frozen inside




And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
Everything's turning to white

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Paul Kelly's song 'Everything's Turning to White' narrate a chilling story of a group of men who discover the body of a young girl while on a fishing trip. The lyrics suggest that the group of men knowingly leave the girl's body and continue their weekend fishing trip, only reporting the incident when they return. The song beautifully captures the guilt and shame that the singer feels, even though she was not directly involved in the incident. The line "everything's turning to white" is a metaphor for the singer's state of mind, which is becoming numb as she struggles to come to terms with the traumatic event.


The song's haunting melody and poetic lyrics have made it a fan favorite since its release. The story's vivid imagery and allegories make it open to interpretation and discussion, but Kelly has been vocal about the inspiration for the song. The song is inspired by a short story by Raymond Carver, which Kelly read when he was young. Carver's is a story entitled 'So Much Water So Close to Home' and provides the name for Kelly's song.


Line by Line Meaning

Late on a Friday, my husband went up
At the end of the week, my spouse departed


To the mountains with three friends
To the hills, accompanied by three companions


They took provisions and bottles of bourbon
Supplies and bourbon containers were carried


To last them all through the weekend
To endure through the entire weekend


One hundred miles they drove
They traveled a distance of 100 miles


Just to fish in a stream
Only to angle in a stream


And there's so much water, so close to home
Many nearby water sources exist


When they arrived, it was cold and dark
Upon arrival, it was chilly and dim


They set up their camp quickly
Their camp was quickly established


Warmed up with whiskey, they walked to the river
Whiskey aided in their warming, so they walked to the river


Where the water flowed past darkly
Where the tenebrous water coursed


In the moonlight they saw the body
The corpse was seen in the moon's radiant beams


Of a girl floating face down
Of an inverted young female drifting


And there's so much water, so close to home
Nearby, there is an abundance of moving water


When he holds me now, I'm pretending
When he embraces me currently, I pretend


I feel like I'm frozen inside
I experience as if I'm immobilized inwardly


And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
And beneath my peepers, my established facade


Everything's turning to white
All is becoming white


It was too hard to tell how long she'd been dead
It was arduous to estimate how long she had passed


The river was that close to freezing
The river was near to freezing


But one thing for sure
One thing was certain


The girl hadn't died very well to judge from the bruising
The young woman had not perished without injury, evident from the bruises


They stood there above her all thinking
They all contemplated while standing over her


The same thoughts at the same time
Simultaneously, they held identical thoughts


There's so much water, so close to home
Many accessible water sources are nearby


So this is what they did
Therefore, this is what they did


They carried her downstream from their fishing
While fishing, they moved her downstream


Between two smooth rocks, they gently wedged her
Her body was softly embedded amid two glossy rocks


After all, it was late, and they'd come a long way
It was late, and they had traveled a great distance after all


The girl would keep, she was going nowhere
She would stay put as she had nowhere to go


They stayed up there fishing for two days
They lingered there for two days angling


They reported it on Sunday when they came back down
Upon their return, the incident was revealed on Sunday


There's so much water, so close to home
So many water sources are in proximity


When he holds me now, I'm pretending
When he embraces me nowadays, I feign


Nothing is working inside
Nothing is functioning inside


And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
And hidden beneath my peepers, my standard false exterior


Everything's turning to white
All is becoming white


The newspapers said that the girl had been strangled
The periodicals stated that the female had been choked


To death and also molested
Fatal and sexually assaulted


On the day of the funeral the radio reported
On the day of the funeral, the radio revealed


That a young man had been arrested
That a young man had been detained


I went to the service a stranger
I attended the service as an unknown person


I drove past the lake out of town
I passed the out-of-town lake while driving


There's so much water, so close to home
Many water sources are nearby


When he holds me now I'm pretending
When he embraces me nowadays, I sham


I feel like I'm frozen inside
I feel as if I'm motionless internally


And behind my eyes, my daily disguise
And hidden beneath my peepers, my habitual mask


Everything's turning to white
All is becoming white




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Paul Maurice Kelly

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@mikinozz

In my opinion, Paul Kelly is one of Australia's greatest singer /songwriters. This is one of his finest.

@ricfabulous

That’s not a personal opinion, it’s an actual fact.
England had John Lennon, America have Bob Dylan and we have Paul Kelly.

@cazzaizdabomb

so brave

@CNS946

DEVINE

@TheStrayTatt

This is like saying in my opinion, the sky is blue

@troyvannellestyn368

If you listen to Paul Kelly all the time he has a story to every song

@michaelscott1060

Every piece of your music has grown to be beautiful.

@kt6207

Paul Kelly ìs my bastard spiritual father. I've never seen him in person, not even from a distance but he is a part of me. I love the man.

@MadeleineFougere-tf3fz

My favourite of Mr Kelly’s. beautiful. The story is so sad but the music and his voice soothe my heart if it is aching.

@rebbeccaheaven2681

Best voice I ever had heard love you Paul Kelly

More Comments

More Versions