The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #170831   Message #4131202
Posted By: Levana Taylor
05-Jan-22 - 10:29 PM
Thread Name: ADD: When I Go to Water
Subject: ADD: When I Go to Water
This is a song from Once a River, Still on the Hill (Kelly & Donna Mulhollan)'s album of songs about the Beaver Lake reservoir created by damming the White River in Arkansas. There are a bunch of fine songs there; I mostly found the ones about the history of the river before the dam the most compelling (check out "The Flood of '27" for example) but here I'm posting one of the ones that reflect Kelly Mulhollan's love for the lake he grew up with.

WHEN I GO TO WATER
by Kelly and Donna Mulhollan (2014)
YouTube

I learned how the Cherokee greeted the dawn,
They went to the water with a prayer and a song.
The waves beckon me to the shores of Beaver Lake,
To go out on my sailboat and simply drift away.
It really don’t matter what course I might take;
The wind fills my soul when I go to water.

CHORUS:
When I go to water I can feel my worries drown,
Sinking down to the bottom.
On an altar made of water I will lay my troubles down,
I will rest my soul when I go to water

I threw my old cane pole in my flat bottom boat,
Filled up my cooler, wrote my sweetheart a note.
Said, "I'll be back this evening, a brand new man,
I'll heat up the grill and grab a frying pan..."
But if I catch nothing it won’t matter, you know,
It fills my soul when I go to water.

Could it be the gentle rocking that sets my mind free,
Rocking like a cradle to an ancient melody?
An inner-tube and sunscreen, something cool to drink,
A bright summer sun shining down on me --
That’s all that I need to relax, don’t you know,
And it fills my soul when I go to water.

T:When I Go to Water
C:Kelly & Donna Mulhollan
M:4/4
L:1/4
K:Dminor
Q:1/4=165
"F"F<F G>F | "Dm"E D D2 | "Gm"G G2 F | "C"E z2 A |
w:I learned how the Cher-o-kee gree-ted the dawn They
"F"A2 c>c | c A A c | "Dm"d2 A G | A z2 F | "F"F2 E<E |
w:went to the wa-ter with a prayer and a song The waves beck-on
"Dm"D z2 G/2G/2 | "Gm"G G G F | "C"E z2 A | "F"A c c c | c A z c |
w:me to the shores of Bea-ver Lake To go out on my sail-boat and
"C"c A c A | "Bb"d4- | d z2 f | "Dm"f2 e d | f2 e d | "Bb"d2 d c |
w:sim-ply drift a-way_ It real-ly don't mat-ter what course I might
B z2 A | "F"A2 A c | (A G) G2 | "C"G3 z | F3 E | "G"F D3 | z3 d |
w:take The wind fills my soul_ when I go to wa-ter When
"Dm"d d2 A | A A A F | "C"G G G F | "Dm"A2 z2 | "C"G2 G2 |
w:I go to wa-ter I can feel my wor-ries drown Sink-ing
G2 F<E | "Dm"F D z2 | z3 F/2F/2 | "F"F F F F | c<c c A |
w:down to the bot-tom On an al-tar made of wa-ter I will
"C"G G G<F | "Dm"A2 A A | f2 e2 | (dA) A2 | "C"G3 z | F3 E | "Dm"F D3 ||
w:lay my trou-bles down I will rest my soul_ when I go to wa-ter