[Voice: Male bari-tenor. Warm Appalachian storyteller, intimate and reflective. Traditional verses tender and melodic; rap sections conversational, poetic, and quietly profound.] [Intro — bare and intimate] The water is wide, I cannot cross o'er, And neither have I wings to fly. Give me a boat that can carry two, And both shall row, my love and I. [Verse 1] A ship there is, 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 if I sink or swim. [Chorus] The water is wide, And the river runs deep. Some promises wake, Some promises sleep. If I can't reach your shore And you can't reach mine, I'll carry your memory Across the water and time. [Rap 1 — intimate, flowing] Funny how distance ain't always miles. Sometimes it's silence. Sometimes it's pride. Sometimes two people sit side by side And still can't find the other side. I thought love meant holding on No matter what the current did. But you can't stop a river Just by wishing that it did. Some things need a bridge. Some things need a boat. And some things you carry Because they're all you've got to hold. [Verse 2] Oh love is gentle, and love is kind, And love grows old and waxes cold, And fades away like the morning dew When the sun begins to shine. [Chorus] The water is wide, And the river runs deep. Some promises wake, Some promises sleep. If I can't reach your shore And you can't reach mine, I'll carry your memory Across the water and time. [Verse 3] There is a bank on the other side, Where I once dreamed we'd meet. I watched the river roll between us, Moving steady beneath my feet. I called your name across the water, But the wind carried it away. And I learned that love can linger Even when it cannot stay. [Rap 2 — deeper] Maybe that's the part nobody tells you: Love isn't always a rescue. Sometimes you love somebody deeply And still can't save what you had. Sometimes the bravest thing you do Is stop fighting the current. You can build a thousand promises, You can swear they'll never break, But time has got a tide of its own And hearts have got their ways. So I won't call it failure If the river takes you far. Some people are chapters. Some people are scars. Some become the stars You navigate by after they're gone. [Bridge — building] The water is wide, The water is wide. I cannot cross o'er, No matter how hard I try. But somewhere beyond The turning tide, I'll find my way To the other side. [Rap 3 — accepting] So give me no easy answer. Don't tell me every love survives. Some love teaches you to stay. Some teaches you goodbye. And if I meet you on that far shore When all this water's gone, I'll know the love was real Even though we couldn't carry it on. [Final Chorus — full] The water is wide, And the river runs deep. Some promises wake, Some promises sleep. Give me a boat that can carry two, And both shall row, my love and I. The water is wide, But the love was true. I couldn't cross the water, But I carried part of you. [Outro — almost whispered] The water is wide, I cannot cross o'er, And neither have I wings to fly. Give me a boat that can carry two, And both shall row, My love and I.
