THE WATER IS WIDE

The water is wide, I can't cross over,
And neither have I, the wings to fly,
Give me a boat, that can carry two,
And both shall row - my love and I.

A ship there was, and she sails the sea,
She's loaded deep, as deep can be,
But not so deep, as the love I'm in,
And I know not how, I sink or swim.

I leaned my back, against a young oak,
Thinking that he was, a trusty tree,
But first he bended, and then he broke,
And thus did my, false love to me.

I put my hand, into some soft bush,
Thinking the sweetest, flower to find.
I pricked my finger, to the bone,
And left the sweetest, flower alone.

Oh, love is handsome, love is fine,
Gay as a jewel, when first it's new,
But love grows old, and waxes cold,
And fades away, like summer dew.

The seagulls wheel, they turn and dive,
The mountain stands, beside the sea.
This world we know, turns round and round,
And all for them - and you and me.
And all for them- and you and me.

Traditional New Last Verse by Pete Seeger (1982)
© 1993 by Sanga Music, Inc.