There’s Something In The Water

I wanted to write a song about inequality and the idea that the rich have unequal access to resources – with the example of a river, where upstream factories and communities are taking all the water, so that the land downstream is depleted.

The end result was a bit different but linked. I’ve played it our band, (The Apple Snatchers), and they like it, so it’s provisionally in the set. We’re looking at doing a couple of gigs in the Autumn, which should be fun.

There’s something in the water,
floating down the stream.
It’s come from up the river,
I wonder what it means.
There’s moonlight on the water,
blue lights in the town
Sun’s up in an hour or so,
soon I will be gone

And it’s not just in the water
it’s everywhere around
You can see the people thinking
to move to higher ground
They don’t want any trouble,
they’ll just let it be
And sometimes these old eyes of mine,
they don’t want to see

And the river is deep, the river is wide –
it’s way too far to the other side.

We need you to survive,
you must carry on
We need you to keep going
or else we’ll all be gone
Can the oak tree stand forever,
its branches touch the sky ?
We can tell most any story,
but it’s hard to live the life.

And the river is deep, the river is wide –
is it too far to the other side ?