WT2022
The water is wide
SATB
performance time approx 3m 00s
Range S: d' – d'' / A: b – b' / T: d – e' / B: G – c'
See a perusal copy of the
music.
Download a
synthesized realisation
One of the most famous folk songs collected by Cecil Sharp, expressing the experience of love in a series of metaphors from the natural world. Alliteration, repetition, irregular rhymes and stock phrases combine to express something poignant and powerful. In this arrangement, the tune (sung mostly by the sopranos) is echoed and accompanied by the other voice parts. Verses 1 and 5 can be sung by soloists, and 'ooh' can be substituted for 'ah' if the accompaniment needs to be quieter for balance.
Words
The water is wide, I cannot get o'er,
And neither have I wings to fly.
Give me a boat that will carry two,
And both shall row, my love and I.
Oh, down in the meadows the other day,
A-gath'ring flowers, both fine and gay,
A-gath'ring flowers both red and blue,
I little thought what love can do.
I put my hand into one soft bush,
Thinking the sweetest flower to find.
I pricked my finger right to the bone,
And left the sweetest flower alone.
I leaned my back up against some oak,
Thinking that he was a trusty tree.
But first he bended and then he broke;
And so did my false love to me.
Oh love is handsome and love is fine,
And love's a jewel when it is new.
But when it is old, it groweth cold,
And fades away like morning dew.
Traditional English
This version of the words and tune was collected by Cecil Sharp. Two of the verses overlap considerably with a song of Scottish origin called 'O waly, waly'.
Purchase – 2022: The water is wide
Before you click the "buy" button, please enter the name of your group and select the appropriate size.
The price depends on the number of singers in your group.
This is a single payment for a licence to make as many copies as you
need for your group to rehearse and perform the song. You can also re-print
- for instance, to replace copies that get lost or worn out.
Copies must not be given, lent, hired or sold to any other group.
Orders are normally despatched within 24 hours - not
instantly, because each PDF file is created specially
for the purchaser.
Canasg sales are processed via Paypal. Paypal lets you pay with a simple
credit or debit card if you don’t have a Paypal account.
Your Paypal transaction will be in
sterling and it will be converted automatically if
your credit card draws on a different currency.
Paypal passes none of your secure information to Canasg.
If you would like us to send an invoice before you pay, or if you would like your order priced in $US or Euros,
then please
e-mail your order to us instead of using the form above.
