The Goblin Market is a project of Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller, both of whom… Read Full Bio ↴The Goblin Market is a project of Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller, both of whom are also in The Green Pajamas. The music prominently features lyrics by Emily Bronte.

Cruel Rapids White
The Goblin Market Lyrics

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Looking hard into the rapids
You can almost see her face
Moving just below the surface
Of this cold and haunted place

Is that you in the water
In the icy morning light
Is that you in the crazy rapids white

Did some sweet song lure her closer
Was she tempted like a fool
Bound and beaten by the current
Or some other just as cruel

Is that you in the water
In the icy morning light
Is that you in the crazy rapids white

Did you taste this muddy water
Did you drown in this foam
With your white legs kickin
And your throat too full to moan

Is that you in the water

In the icy morning light
Is that you in the crazy rapids white

Overall Meaning

The Goblin Market’s song Cruel Rapids White appears to be a haunting tale about a woman who, for some reason or another, has drowned in the rapids. The lyrics suggest that the singer is looking hard into the rapids and can almost see her face, which is moving just below the surface of the water, in this cold and haunted place. The lyrics ask whether this figure is the woman herself, and it goes on to paint a vivid picture of what may have happened.

The lyrics suggest that the woman may have been tempted by some sweet song, only to be bound and beaten by the current, or by some other cruel force that pushed her towards the rapids. The song describes her last moments as her throat was too full to moan, and her white legs kicked in the foaming water. The icy morning light serves as an ominous backdrop to this tragic scene.

Overall, the song’s haunting imagery and foreboding tone create a sense of loss and unease in the listener, inviting them to consider what may have caused this woman's tragic fate.

Line by Line Meaning

Looking hard into the rapids
Staring intently at the churning waters

You can almost see her face
You can barely make out the image of a person beneath the surface

Moving just below the surface
Slowly drifting under the water

Of this cold and haunted place
This location is bleak and ghostly

Is that you in the water
Are you the one who disappeared into the river

In the icy morning light
During the frigid dawn hours

Is that you in the crazy rapids white
Are you the one who got caught up in the fast-moving, turbulent water

Did some sweet song lure her closer
Did a melodious tune draw her towards the water's edge

Was she tempted like a fool
Did she succumb to temptation foolishly

Bound and beaten by the current
Swept away and battered by the river's flow

Or some other just as cruel
Perhaps another force was just as merciless