canasg choral music publishing

WT2022

The water is wide

tune and words traditional

arranged by Sheena Phillips
for unaccompanied SATB chorus

SATB performance time approx 3m 00s

Arranger's note

This is a quite beautiful and very well known song, full of the little clusters of alliteration, repetition, irregular rhymes and stock phrases that are so common in folk songs. Verses 1 and 5 can be sung by soprano soloists, and 'ooh' can be substituted for 'ah' if the accompaniment needs to be quieter for balance.

Music

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Hear a MIDI file of the song

Words

The water is wide

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 British song

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'.

Price per copy Ł1.30 ($2.00)

Note: This price is for the first 20 licensed copies of the song, further copies cost only 25% of this price.

Companion pieces

Browse the 'World folk and traditional' section of the Canasg catalogue for more songs like this one. To go there now, click on the 'catalogue' box to the right.

Canasg Music