Crossing Muddy Waters
Journey Through Heartache: Crossing Muddy Waters by John Hiatt
Lyrics
My baby's gone and I don't know why
Expresses confusion and sorrow over the departure of the speaker's partner.
She let out this morning
Describes the departure of the partner early in the morning.
Like a rusty shot in a hollow sky
Compares the partner's departure to an unexpected, startling sound in an empty sky.
Left me without warning
Indicates the sudden departure without giving any prior indication or notice.
Sooner than the dogs could bark
Highlights the speed of the departure, quicker than the dogs could bark.
And faster than the sun rose
Emphasizes the swiftness of the departure, faster than the sunrise.
Down to the banks in an old mule car
Refers to the partner's journey to the riverbanks using an old mule-driven cart.
She took a flatboat across the shallow
Describes the partner's mode of crossing the river—using a flatboat in the shallow waters.
Left me in my tears to drown
Expresses the speaker's emotional distress and abandonment, feeling left alone in sorrow.
She left a baby daughter
Mentions that the partner left behind a baby daughter.
Now the water's wide and deep and brown
Illustrates the vastness and depth of the river the partner is crossing, symbolizing difficulties.
She's crossing muddy waters
Reiterates the partner's challenging journey across the muddy waters.
Tobacco standing in the fields
Describes tobacco fields that will decay by November, symbolizing the passing of time.
Be rotten come November
Indicates that a bitter heart does not easily show the emotions or memories of past love.
And a bitter heart will not reveal
Reflects on the endurance of love and its enduring memories.
A spring that love remembers
Describes the partner's beauty and the intensity of her gaze.
When that sweet brown girl of mine
Recalls sharing a meal and wine, symbolic of intimacy and companionship.
Her black eyes are ravens
This line is empty.
We broke the bread and drank the wine
Depicts a scene where the baby is crying, and the daylight is fading.
From a jug that she'd been saving
Describes the natural elements reacting to the emotional turmoil, signifying the environment echoing the sorrow.
Baby's crying and the daylight's gone
Shows the partner's sorrow, possibly for the child or the speaker.
That big oak tree is groaning
Symbolizes the natural world reacting to the emotional distress.
In rush of wind and river of song
Portrays the partner's emotional state, possibly grieving for the baby or the partner.
I can hear my sweetheart moaning
Indicates the partner's emotional turmoil and yearning for the wild and unpredictable river, suggesting a desire to escape.
Crying for her baby child
Suggests the partner's emotional pain and longing for the child.
Or crying for her husband
Posits the idea that the partner might also be crying for the speaker, expressing sorrow for leaving.
Crying for that river's wild
Describes the partner's desire for the untamed river, possibly wishing for freedom or release from pain.
To take her from her loved ones
Expresses the partner's longing to be taken away from loved ones, possibly due to distress or yearning for escape.
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