Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes Lyrics

[Rusalka, Rusalka]
Rusalka, Rusalka your arms out of water
Your hair like an alien bloom
Dark-eyed Rusalka, your brow tressed in flowers

Pale in a liminal moon
And all that you are is a star on the water

When first I went swimming, I heeded no warning
And dared breach your rippling pool
As I lulled and lingered, the ring slipped my finger
And drifted down the deepening cool

And all that I want is to fall in your shallows

And now we are wed, the water our bed
And bank to bank our property lay
And you are my wild-eyed rusalka, my river bride
Drag me down, take me away
And here we will lie, you and I, 'neath the cold, dark, sky


[Wild Rushes]
Beware the wild rushes, my mother told me
That grow on the bank side along the salt sea
But I being young, I heeded her none
So to the wild rushes the wind carried me

The summer was here and the sun it was high
And to the wild rushes I came by and by
And there took my seat and dipped in my feet
When through the wild rushes, a voice sweetly cried:
Come down, my little darling, come closer to me
The water is warm; it is salty and free
I long for your touch but I won't ask too much
And I, being foolish, walked in to my knees

Come down, little darling, and lay at my breast
Oh come a little closer and I'll do the rest
I waited so long for a lover to come

And I, being foolish, walked in to my chest

Come down, my little darling, oh farther come in
For deeper the water, the sweeter the sin
My lily lies here, if you'd only draw near
And I, being foolish, went in to my chin

Oh come, my little darling, do you feel my cool breath?
Do you feel my arms around you so warm and so wet?
Swept from my feet, she pulled me beneath
And in the wild rushes, I went to my death

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About

Genius Annotation

“Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes” is a song that comprises two parts. Each section features the protagonist being enticed by a siren-like woman. In both parts, the protagonist succumbs to the temptation, despite his best judgment, and it is assumed that he drowns. Neither drowning nor seduction are new lyrical ground for The Decemberists.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The Decemberists say about "Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes"?
Genius Answer

“Rusalka, Rusalka/Wild Rushes” really came out of just my own fascination with folk tale creatures and their connection to water. I feel like water has been an important part of my songwriting from the get-go. I think that I was just reading about a rusalka which is, in Slavic mythology, a water spirit that tends to, you know, draw men into their drowning deaths. Kind of connected to a siren in that sense.
-Colin Meloy

Credits
Release Date
March 16, 2018
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