The Water Is Wide
TRADITIONAL, JEAN-PAUL CABRIERES
The water is wide, I can't cross o'er
Nor do I have light wings to fly
Build me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row my love and I.
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 how I sink or swim.
I leaned my back up against an 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 a bush
The sweetest flower there to find
I pricked my finger to the bone
And left the sweetest flower alone.
Oh, love is handsome and love is fine
It's like a gem when first it's new
But love grows old and waxes cold
And fades away like the morning dew.