The Water Is Wide
Cecil Sharp printed this lyric in «Folk Songs From Somerset» (1906), joining verses that float between 17th-century ballads: no two versions agree.
D G D
The water is wide, I cannot cross o'er,
D Hm7 A7
And neither have I wings to fly.
D G
Give me a boat that can carry two,
A D
And both shall row, my love and I.
D G D
Oh, love is gentle and love is kind
D Hm7 A7
The sweetest flower when first it’s new
D G
But love grows old and waxes cold
A D
And fades away like morning dew
D G D
There is a ship and she sails the sea
D Hm7 A7
She’s loaded deep as deep can be
D G
But not as deep as the love I’m in
A D
I know not how I sink or swim
D G D
The water is wide, I can’t cross o’er
D Hm7 A7
And neither have I wings to fly
D G
Give me a boat that can carry two
A D
And both shall row, my love and I
A D
And both shall row, my love and I