“The Water” is a duet sung with Laura Marling. In an interview with The Spectator, Flynn said:
‘It was about trying to get the male and female voices like river currents, swirling around each other, tracing each other, overlapping.’
[Verse 1]
All that I have is a river
The river is always my home
Lord, take me away, for I just cannot stay
Or I'll sink in my skin and my bones
[Chorus]
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me, I'm done
With my dying...
[Verse 2]
Please help me build a small boat
One that'll ride on the flow
Where the river runs deep and the larger fish creep
I'm glad of what keeps me afloat
[Chorus]
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me, I'm done
With my dying...
[Verse 3]
Now deeper the water I sail
And faster the current I'm in
That each night brings the stars and the song in my heart
Is a tune for the journeyman's tale
[Chorus]
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me, I'm done
With my dying...
[Bridge]
Now the land that I knew is a dream
And the line on the distance grows faint
So wide is my river, the horizon a sliver
The artist has run out of paint
[Verse 4]
Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the big yellow sun leads me home
I'm everywhere now; the way is a vow
To the wind of each breath by and by
[Chorus]
The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me, I'm done
With my dying...
The Water was written by Johnny Flynn.
The Water was produced by Ryan Hadlock.
Johnny Flynn released The Water on Mon Jun 07 2010.