"don't go there" I heard her say
"you can't stomach what you're going to see"
It's down there, by the water's edge
wasted and bloated and waiting for someone else

funny how, these things come about
when you're tied to the teeth and mouth
no sound of fury, no shot of pain
there was no real reason, no gain

I can't go down to the water's edge
I didn't do it...I saw who did
Don't go down to the water's edge
they did it once and they can do it again

it ain't no secret to me
how she got there down by the stream
I'd seen her the minute before the van pulled up and opened
the door (took all my love)

but I can't say a single word
about what I saw of her
her killers...they got their friends
in familiar places, I tell you man

this ain't no fucking game
and I'm feeling so ashamed
because I didn't do anything
no I didn't do anything
to stop this from happening

I didn't do a thing

I swear


Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death

Water's Edge Lyrics as written by Jason Ross Jason Pollock

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Water's Edge song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

34 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +3
    My Interpretation

    The singer witnessed an abduction of an innocent. He doesn't do anything because he's scared for his own life and so just let's the abductors kill the victim who's only wrong doing is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    Later the body washes up on the shores of the river and a friend tells the singer not to go down there. He does anyway and recognizes the innocent victim that was murdered in front of him.

    He wants to do the right thing and turn the killers in but he knows that the murderers have killed once and killing him wouldn't bother them in the slightest. Even though the singer isn't the one who murdered the innocent, he still feels he contributed to her death because he did nothing.

    The last line really drives this home when the singer practically screams "I should have done... something"

    Susinkoon March 31, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is about a guy who is warned to not go down by the river or w/e and he does it anyways, and he sees a dead body...he feels guilty b/c he saw it happen, and he saw who did it but didnt do anything about it...the line "They did it once, They can do it again"....i think it means that theyve already killed, theyre not afraid to do it again, so he should keep quiet..And the line.."The Van pulled up and opened the door (took all my love)..he saw them kidnap the person (maybe the woman he loves?) What does everyone esle think?

    SexyAss14on May 30, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I believe it is talkin about a goat sacrifice him and his friends made while they were drunk and now it has washed up on the shore of the river and every1 has found out about the animal brutality and he just had a buzz and he feels bad because he could have stopped the sacrifice but he didn't.

    cheesemaster125on June 06, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is in my opinion a really good song. The lyrics themselves are creepy though. Like some sort of cry for help..a message of a sort. I would like to know what it really means....

    Webchefon May 07, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ya everytime i listen to this song, certain parts stick out..like something bad happened that he saw, but didn;t stop or something

    Anakaliaon May 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about a guy who is warned to not go down by the river or w/e and he does it anyways, and he sees a dead body...he feels guilty b/c he saw it happen, and he saw who did it but didnt do anything about it...the line "They did it once, They can do it again"....i think it means that theyve already killed, theyre not afraid to do it again, so he should keep quiet..And the line.."The Van pulled up and opened the door (took all my love)..he saw them kidnap the person (maybe the woman he loves?) What does everyone esle think?

    SexyAss14on May 30, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i actually think that this song has a much deeper meaning than the literal lyrics... its a good song, and like webchef said, the lyrics are pretty creepy - but i really think there is an underlying theme or message here.....

    kyn1325on June 11, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really have a hard time listening to this song. It describes an event in my life almost word for word. We had a girl kidnapped and murdered near the town I live in and the way the crime happened fit the lyrics perfect. She was picked up by guys in a van and killed. She was found by the edge of a river. It's really quite disturbing.

    Flanderson June 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is my interpretation of the song. I've divided it up like the lyrics of the song. Just my opinion.

    "Don't go looking for my problems because they are too much for you too handle. They're left behind me, ugly and torn - waiting for someone else to discover them"

    Funny how your problems come about, when you're inhibited from saying anything. There's no scream for pain. There's no real reason, no gain from these problems

    I can't go and find her problems. I didn't go, but I know who did. Don't go looking for them, I know someone who did it once - and I know they can do it again

    It's no secret to me how she left her problems behind Because I saw her before, and saw them snatch her heart up and take her away

    I can't say anything about the things I saw. These problems, they have companions, close to home, my friend

    It's no secret to me how she left her problems behind. Because I saw her before, and saw them snatch her heart up and take her away

    This isn't a game - it's real. I'm ashamed because I didn't help her through them. I didn't do anything to prevent this from happening.

    "Don't go looking for my problems because they are too much for you too handle. They're left behind me, ugly and torn - waiting for someone else to discover them"

    I didn't do a thing, and I should have helped her out.

    • Jennifer
    ihavetofallon July 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    shit snoop, cracka, skrillas,

    forumon September 23, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.