The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #43284   Message #3332331
Posted By: Joe Offer
02-Apr-12 - 12:05 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Crossing the Water (Bill Staines)
Subject: ADD: Crossing the Water (Bill Staines)
I disagree a bit with the transcriptions posted above, and I believe the title is "Crossing the Water." Here's my effort, transcribed from the Bill Staines Going to the West album:

CROSSING THE WATER
(Bill Staines)

CHORUS
We are crossing the water our whole life through,
We are making a passage that is straight and true.
Every heart is a vessel, every dream is a light,
Shining through the darkness of the blackest night.

For there is no shallow water, and naught but love to keep
Us safely from the dangers and the devils of the deep
Yet with every breath within us, we search forever more,
To find some peaceful harbor on that far off shore.
CHORUS

For some it is a glory, for some it is a game,
For some it is a story filled with emptiness and pain.
But as rising winds in chorus, we search for steady ground,
There is only that before us, there can be no turning 'round.
CHORUS

Oh, there is no other journey that will ever be the same,
No second chance horizon that will call you by your name.
When the welling waves wash o'er you and the stormy winds, they drive,
Give your heart a song, sing it loud and long, keep your dreams alive.
CHORUS

c1992, Mineral River Music / BMI
(Recorded by Bill Staines on his "Going to the West" album)
JRO ^^

I heard Bob Reid and Margaret Miles in concert last night in Georgetown, California. They opened their concert with this song, and they did a terrific job. Bob and Margaret are friends from the San Francisco Folk Music Club.