Timothy "Tim" Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American director, wri… Read Full Bio ↴Timothy "Tim" Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American director, writer, and actor.
Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth (Kaiser) Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist/wildcatter father.
Track on lastfm : In The Jailhouse Now (Soundtrack Version (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)) (sometimes streams)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Blake_Nelson

Cool Water
Tim Blake Nelson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All day I faced
The barren waste
Without the taste of water
Cool water

Ol' Dan and I
With throats burned dry
And souls that cry for water

Cool, clear water

Dan, can you see that big green tree
Where the water's running free
And it's waiting there for you and me

The night's so cool
And I'm a fool
Each star's a pool of water
Cool water

But with the dawn
I'll wake and yawn and carry on
To water (water)
Cool, clear water (water, water)

Keep on moving, Dan
Don't you listen to him, Dan
He's a devil, not a man
And he spreads the burning sands
With water (water)

Dan, can you see that big green tree

Where the water's running free
And it's waiting there for you and me

Overall Meaning

"Cool Water" is a song that speaks of the brutal effects of traversing a harsh and arid landscape without any source of water. The singer poetically describes the terrible situation, where he and his friend Dan are stranded, facing a dry and barren wasteland with parched throats and tormented souls, crying out for some water. The chorus repeatedly asserts the need for cool, clear water and highlights its symbolic importance as a precious commodity. The song brilliantly captures the mental, emotional and physical agony that one goes through when one is deprived of something so basic and essential.

The song is narrated from a first-person perspective, and the singer describes the different moods he experiences over the course of time. At night, he experiences a sense of relief and tranquillity and perceives the stars as pools of water. However, with the arrival of dawn, the same calmness gets replaced by a feeling of restlessness and discomfort, and he sings about waking up with a yawn and carrying on in search of water. The song ends with a positive note, reminding Dan that there is a source of water waiting for them under a big green tree and motivating him to keep moving despite the devilish heat and barren landscape.

Line by Line Meaning

All day I faced
Throughout the day, I was confronted

The barren waste
With a lifeless and desolate environment

Without the taste of water
Lacking the experience of drinking water

Cool water
A refreshing form of liquid

Ol' Dan and I
My old friend Dan and I

With throats burned dry
With dry and sore throats

And souls that cry for water
And a deep emotional longing for water

Cool, clear water
A revitalizing and transparent liquid

Dan, can you see that big green tree
Dan, are you able to observe that large green plant

Where the water's running free
Where the water flows freely

And it's waiting there for you and me
And it is there, ready for both of us to drink