Lyrics The Water Is Wide - John Hartford, Pete Seeger, Joni Mitchell

The Water Is Wide

The water is wide, I cannot cross over
And neither have I 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 up against some young oak
Thinking 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 is 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