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One two
One two three four
I'll kiss that away
Both of them swam from a northern blue sky
Smile on their faces they entered their doom like they knew
If their world should end they won't care about that anyway
I jade the water and i burn the fire
Ooh, i burn the fire
Nuclear chemicals making their doom like you knew,
If the world should end you won't care about that anyway.
Maybe that's the way you live your life but i know,
Life, it don't always live that way.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
But it's just the way
Maybe that's the way you live you life but i know
You live, your, life
Life, you see it don't always live that way
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die, oh why
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Maybe that's the way
Maybe that's the way, but it don't always live that way
Now that i understand the beauty of what they've left to hand me down.
When you need a place to live and no one understands you.
And all you want to do.
Is to cry out loud.
But you don't know how.
No way, no-one,
No-one understands.
The hand that strikes.
When just a touch of love is all the problem needed,
And when you hurt someone so much that still they die loving you.
And all you want to do,
Is to cry out loud.
But you don't know how,
Jade
Jade
A shade of pain and then the memory dies.
Jade
Oh no no, and then, and then we die die, die, die
A shade of pain and then we die
Jade
But you don't know how,
Until you try some how,
Jade
Like you don't know how
Jade
But you'll try somehow.
Jade, and then we die.
We will find a way,
Letting the sun go down.
Maybe we'll find a way,
Holding the sun.
We will find a way,
Letting our life go by.
I tell you we'll find a way,
Holding the sun
The sun
One two three four
I'll kiss that away
Both of them swam from a northern blue sky
Smile on their faces they entered their doom like they knew
If their world should end they won't care about that anyway
I jade the water and i burn the fire
Ooh, i burn the fire
Nuclear chemicals making their doom like you knew,
If the world should end you won't care about that anyway.
Maybe that's the way you live your life but i know,
Life, it don't always live that way.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
But it's just the way
Maybe that's the way you live you life but i know
You live, your, life
Life, you see it don't always live that way
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die, oh why
Jade,
A shade of pain and then we die.
Maybe that's the way
Maybe that's the way, but it don't always live that way
Now that i understand the beauty of what they've left to hand me down.
When you need a place to live and no one understands you.
And all you want to do.
Is to cry out loud.
But you don't know how.
No way, no-one,
No-one understands.
The hand that strikes.
When just a touch of love is all the problem needed,
And when you hurt someone so much that still they die loving you.
And all you want to do,
Is to cry out loud.
But you don't know how,
Jade
Jade
A shade of pain and then the memory dies.
Jade
Oh no no, and then, and then we die die, die, die
A shade of pain and then we die
Jade
But you don't know how,
Until you try some how,
Jade
Like you don't know how
Jade
But you'll try somehow.
Jade, and then we die.
We will find a way,
Letting the sun go down.
Maybe we'll find a way,
Holding the sun.
We will find a way,
Letting our life go by.
I tell you we'll find a way,
Holding the sun
The sun
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…which is a very literal interpretation of the song's first part, but I think the second part and the chorus make its meaning a little less clear. To me, Seal is deriving the meaning of jade (as a color) from the word "jade" as a verb. Being jaded means to be worked hard or worn out. It can also mean to be depressed. But since he also refers to it as a shade ('I jade the water', or poison it [green]), he's using both of its meanings for this song.
So taken in total, I think the song begins with the story about the dolphins to represent the unintended consequences of industrial societies (like pollution over nature), punctuates with the chorus about jade to represent the miserable, over-worked lives of those who inhabit such societies, and uses the second part to illustrate the beauty of emotion, nurturing and spirituality over the coldness of materialism, judgment and rationality; which are the main components of such cultures.
He also talks about the pain of death in spite of such attributes ('all you want to do is to cry out loud, but you don't know how…'), which further reinforces my idea that he's singing about the absence of emotion in industrialist cultures. It seems as if he's telling us to stop ceaselessly driving others (and ourselves) by the clock and to take moments to pause, love, and feel instead.
So in the end, "Jade… a shade of pain and then we die" really means that the material world (including our bodies and all mundane consequences) are fleeting and that the soul is eternal.
In fewer words, the song is about the importance of love. The title ("Deep Water", which he never mentions) can mean either the ocean the dolphins came from, or represent the deep, amorphous "subjective", which is what he's advocating in favor of the level, distinct "objective", whose figurative counterpart would be "shallowness" or "flat ground".
And the final part of the song (we will find a way/the sun) shows some (but little) hope for humanity's future. Seal uses the metaphor of the sun to represent the end of an age and the coming of a new, but is less enthusiastic than he is doubtful ('maybe we'll find a way'). His mild hope and resignation for the lack of love in the world can really be felt as the song comes to an end. But then again, his jade is only a shade of pain before HE dies.
Like I said—it's a journey. Really an under-appreciated masterpiece.
This is one of the best songs ever.
I was at a small Seal concert in Seattle back around 2000 and he actually gave the background for a lot of his songs. He said he sat down and wrote this song after reading about two dolphins that swam from their home waters to England (I believe) where everybody fell in love with them for a couple of days before the polluted toxic waters there killed the dolphins. It's much more literal and tragic than I had ever thought........
He feels he might knows what to do change the world, but doesn't know what to do to get people to understand.
And when you hurt someone so much and still they die loving you."
Any thoughts?
A try in a metaphorical way, of course ("We will find a way,
Letting our life go by. I tell you we'll find a way, Holding the sun............. The sun...").