The water is cold and dark And the smell of the metal and reeds And the bark of the trees unsettles me alarms And is marked by the pale umbilical trail of the moon I must travel soon Well the rain's been kind But the sun has been blind And it's not the kind of climate to plant a seed We worked the land but the mud in our hands Is not gonna stand another mouth to feed I have never been so far from home As the last pale pine on the horizon Oh give me the strength to go 'Cause it's sink or swim and I'm feeling frozen Wade in the water Wade in the water Just let me go down without a sound Wade in the water Wade in the water It's sink or swim but my hands are bound I have never been so far from home As the last pale pine on the horizon Oh give me the strength to go 'Cause it's sink or swim and I haven't chosen Wade in the water Wade in the water Or row aground Don't let me down Leaves fall off in my hand one by one Brown in the sand and I'm overcome When we started this life all those years ago I could not have imagined the pain I'd know But it's not getting better and it's not going away If you don't reach out cause you can't stay The roots have all rotted and moot is the thought That we oughta tried it another way There comes a time in everyone's life When it's no longer wise to look away Wade in the water Oh wade in the water Row against the tide Wade in the water Or row against the tide But you gotta try I have never been so far from home As the last pale pine on the horizon Give me the strength to go 'Cause it's sink or swim and I haven't chosen Wade in the water Wade in the water Or row aground Don't let me down Wade in the water Or row aground Don't let me down Don't let me down