Walk on the Water Lyrics
Down by the river near my home.
Couldnt believe, with my own eyes,
And I swear Ill never leave my home again.
Coming right at me from the other side.
Calling out my name; do not be afraid.
Feet begin to run, pounding in my brain;
I dont want to go; I dont want to go.
I dont want to go.
Mmmmmmm...
it's a really great song and stood out for me from the first listen. I love how great John sounds [peaking at "I saw a man"], it's like his voice is yet another instrument, he is that good. It's probably about war, how he got away and the man on the water is death. Jesus would be really on the nose, wouldn't it?
also the beginning of the song definitely brings Clash's London Calling to mind.
I know this mainly from the Richard Hell and the Void-Oids cover version. I've always assumed it was indeed about Jesus Christ and the narrator was called to be a disciple but fled in terror. (Let's face it, it didn't end well for any of the apostles). It seemed like a really original spin on a familiar story. I like the Vietnam interpretation too, though.
This song was one of the few written by Tom Fogarty that CCR recorded. I've always liked this song even though it feels about one verse short. The man walking on the water is obviously Jesus.
The extended psychedelic guitar solo at the end has some great licks.
It could be Jesus I guess, but it doesn't seem definitive to me. The only implication that it's Jesus is that someone walked on water. I always just saw it as creepy surreal imagery.
Anyway, I love this song. It's probably my favorite CCR. The lyrics and the style of the vocals are fantastic together and the solo that makes up the second half of the song is amazing.
it was the angel of death
@naetclifford . Claiming it to be the angel of death is interesting. The implication is that John Fogerty, who was drafted, but escaped Vietnam (and so the angel's fate), may have been thinking of draft buddies who 'didn't want to go' (like himself) and wrote the song, with his older brother, for those young men who were killed or maimed in that vile war. I don't know how close Tom Fogerty was to being drafted - he doesn't wear a military uniform, as does his brother, on the cover of their first album. Did John Fogerty's two younger brothers beat...
@naetclifford . Claiming it to be the angel of death is interesting. The implication is that John Fogerty, who was drafted, but escaped Vietnam (and so the angel's fate), may have been thinking of draft buddies who 'didn't want to go' (like himself) and wrote the song, with his older brother, for those young men who were killed or maimed in that vile war. I don't know how close Tom Fogerty was to being drafted - he doesn't wear a military uniform, as does his brother, on the cover of their first album. Did John Fogerty's two younger brothers beat the draft? I wonder how close to 1968, when WOnTW was released, was it written. 1968 peak US involvement year. Still makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck when that c. 3 second riff sounds after the '...couldn't believe ...'. I didn't want to go, and joined the Citizens Military Forces in Australia in 1969. Perhaps not such an easy alternative for American Boys.