Monroe sang with some of the "Big Bands" of the '40s era, but his music transcended that style to become a popular radio and television personality - like Perry Como, Dean Martin, etc.
Cool Water
Vaughn Monroe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without the taste of water, cool water
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
And souls that cry for water, cool, clear water
[Chorus]
Keep a-movin', Dan, don't you listen to him, Dan
He's a devil not a man
Dan can you see that big green tree
Where the water's runnin' free
And it's waiting there for you and me
The nights are 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, cool, clear, water
The shadows sway and seem to say
Tonight we pray for water, cool, water
And way up there He'll hear our prayer
And show us where there's water, cool, clear, water
Dan's feet are sore he's yearning for
Just one thing more than water, cool, water
Like me I guess he'd like to rest
Where there's no quest for water, cool, clear, water
"Cool Water" is a classic American Western song written by Bob Nolan in 1936, and was originally recorded by the Sons of the Pioneers who popularised the song. Later, Vaughn Monroe recorded the song in 1948, which also became a huge hit, and is sometimes considered the definitive version of "Cool Water". The song is a story of two men - the singer and his horse named Dan - who have been travelling through the barren wilderness in search of water. They both are exhausted and thirsty, and both know the value of water more than anything else, yet they have been unable to find it. The song represents the story of eternal search for a basic necessity of life amidst the wilderness.
Throughout the song, the singer and Dan keep moving, not losing their hope, despite the difficulties that they face, including the burning sand and the sun. In the chorus, the singer encourages Dan to keep moving, not to listen to the devil (who represents a force that might make them lose hope), but rather to focus on finding water. The singer keeps himself motivated, saying that each star in the sky is like a pool of water, but he doesn't let this illusion distract him from his goal of finding real water. Finally, in the end, the song reaches its climax when both the singer and Dan are at their limits, but continue to persevere, praying that they'll find "cool, clear water", where they can finally rest.
Line by Line Meaning
All day I've faced the barren waste
I've spent all day in a deserted and infertile land
Without the taste of water, cool water
Without even experiencing the refreshing taste of cool water
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
Dan and I are experiencing a burning sensation in our throats due to dehydration
And souls that cry for water, cool, clear water
Our souls are yearning for cool and clear water
Keep a-movin', Dan, don't you listen to him, Dan
Keep moving, Dan, don't pay attention to the devil who is tempting you to stop
He's a devil not a man
This devil is not human, instead an evil spirit
And he spreads the burning sand with water
This devil is creating an illusion of water in the form of burning sand
Dan can you see that big green tree
Dan, do you see that large, green tree in the distance?
Where the water's runnin' free
That tree signifies a source of free-flowing water
And it's waiting there for you and me
The water is waiting for us to arrive and take a sip
The nights are cool and I'm a fool
The nights provide coolness and I feel stupid for not having found water yet
Each star's a pool of water, cool water
At night, I am delusional and seeing stars as pools of cool and refreshing water
But with the dawn I'll wake and yawn
When it's daylight, I'll wake up and feel a yawn coming on
And carry on to water, cool, clear, water
I'll continue to search for cool and clear water
The shadows sway and seem to say
The shadows are moving and seem to be speaking to me
Tonight we pray for water, cool, water
Tonight, we pray for water, cool and refreshing water
And way up there He'll hear our prayer
God will listen to our prayer from above
And show us where there's water, cool, clear, water
God will show us where to find cool and clear water
Dan's feet are sore he's yearning for
Dan's feet are hurting and he is also longing for
Just one thing more than water, cool, water
Something else, in addition to water, that is cool and refreshing
Like me I guess he'd like to rest
Like me, I assume Dan would also like to rest
Where there's no quest for water, cool, clear, water
Where there is an abundance of cool and clear water and no need to desperately search for it
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bob Nolan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vaughnschmidt516
I'm born in 1987 and this man is my name sake. What a voice.!
@jefffriedberg
The best version of this 1947 tune which i heard on the radio at that time
@sandyfulton1722
I remembered this to provide music for our virtual church service at our Water Communion next month.
@radiobob805
That was recorded in 1945 and not released until 1948. There was a musician's strike in 1948. So RCA pulled an old unissued master from three years earlier. It was first recorded by Bob Nolan in 1941.
@ap5088
Makes me wonder - had RCA not kept this record on the shelf for three years, would it have become such a big hit? And did this western-themed success in 1948 influence the decision to have Monroe do "Riders in the Sky" a year later?
@danielarick2105
I have this record it is from an album from Monroe
@brianwilson9828
very odd placement of the big band swing section of the song...kinda ruins the song.
@t24hy44
I agree with you, and personally, I don't think Mr. Monroe had the appropriate voice or feeling for this song. They should have stuck with Bob Nolan as the soloist for this song; he had the right voice for this particular tune. I'll bet Mr. Nolan made a tidy sum from other people recording his music, though I have to wonder if he might have cringed a bit to hear some other artists' renditions of his carefully thought out lyrics and tunes - and he wrote so many over his lifetime!!
@brianwilson9828
@Emmi R I hope he made some money, so many artists got ripped off back then. Like so many other things in life, the music made by harmony and live bands playing while the artist was singing with the band during the recording seems to me to sound so much better than the multi-track recordings and electronic auto tune of the artists voice...this is just good honest-to-goodness music!
@pnutbutrncrackers
No offense to anyone, but this is not my favorite version of the song. I liked the one on my dad's old Sons of the Pioneers record much better.