Greetings from Laurel Canyon!
The water’s wide / And I cannot cross over / Nor do I / Have wings to fly / Build me a boat / That could carry two / And both shall row / My love & I
There is a ship / And she sails the sea / She’s burdened deep / As deep can be / But not as deep / As the love I’m in / And I know not if / I sink or swim
But love is gentle / And love is kind / As to a jewel / When first it’s new / But love grows old / And it fades with time / And it fades away / Like morning dew
Build me a boat / That could carry two / And both shall row / My love & I
“The Water is Wide” is my kind of soulful lyric. The song points to the challenges of love. At first glance, it’s a simple metaphor, but the longer you sing the tune, the deeper the meaning can go.
I gather that the song has been around for well over 100 years. It’s even older than my dear mom, who is visiting us this week for Jonah’s high school graduation.
Mom turned 90 last year. Elly, like all our family, seemed to get older this year. She likely doesn’t remember taking me to see a legendary Cat Stevens concert at Philharmonic Hall or the Sly & The Family Stone concert at Forrest Hills Tennis Stadium when I fell asleep in the bleachers and Sly pulled a no-show.
When I met Cat Stevens (Yusef) I told him my mom and I were at his show. Blew Cat’s mind. This morning Elly asked me to take her to the Pacific Ocean. “Who knows, it could be the last time I see it.”
Knowing mom, likely not, but the water “will be wide.”
Idelic Single of the Week: Lime Garden – Maybe Not Tonight
