Water has always inspired mythology and culture
In literature, for example, it takes on different roles depending on the context: it symbolizes life, purity, birth, purification, and fertility.
Over time, this role has only grown stronger, and water itself has become a metaphor for human emotions. In music, water gains an even deeper meaning, taking on an expressive dimension that is often absent in other contexts, reaching a richer symbolic value.
In this setting, the listener doesn’t simply read descriptions but is immersed in a total sensory experience that turns them from a passive observer into an active participant. The sound of water, depending on how it is presented, can evoke different and sometimes even opposing sensations, often influenced by the context: water can soothe, be calm or stormy, bring peace or conflict.
Beyond its sonic dimension, water in songs inherits the metaphorical value it already holds in literature. Many lyrics, in fact, are rich in water-related rhetorical imagery.
Songs Where Water Becomes Emotion
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (1970) In this song, water serves as a metaphor for a period of deep suffering: the continuous movement of the waters is seen as a symbol of uncertainty and hardship, representing a confused and fragile emotional state.
In contrast, the bridge represents the emotional support a friend can provide, and the lyrics evoke images of comfort and hope “I’m on your side when times get rough” and “I will lay me down”: it’s about comfort, sacrifice, dedication, and solidarity that defies chaos.
Water becomes a metaphor for suffering and fragility, acquiring a strongly negative connotation.
Fiume Sand Creek – Fabrizio De André (1981) This song tells the story of the Sand Creek Massacre, which took place on November 29, 1864, when Colonel John Chivington’s troops attacked a Native American camp in Colorado, killing over 150 people, including women and children.
The river is not just a geographical reference point; it takes on multiple meanings: it becomes a symbolic and poetic place, the scene of a massacre and the keeper of sorrow, a place of both memory and death.
It holds the blood of the Natives “now the children sleep at the bottom of Sand Creek” and thus becomes a tragic element, a tomb for all the innocents who lost their lives that day; it is a silent witness and voice of the tragedy.
Water becomes the invisible echo of history.
Ocean Eyes – Billie Eilish (2016) This dream pop ballad explores the theme of intense emotional attraction.
The water element is reflected in the eyes, which are compared to the image of the ocean.
Both are vast, deep, extremely mysterious, and blue; they can enchant the observer, evoking strong emotions. They fascinate and frighten, attract and repel.
In this song, attraction prevails: water, in the form of the ocean, perfectly describes deeply human situations such as love. “Fallin’ into your ocean eyes” and “You really know how to make me cry” depict an overwhelming and intense love.
Water becomes an image of love.
Hether we speak of restless waters, rivers as tombs, or eyes like oceans, water becomes a unique expressive medium for telling the human experience.
Its mutability allows it to reflect emotions, evoke sensations, and connect the material world with the spiritual and symbolic realm.
Liquid melodies flow through us, powerful and invisible, transforming notes into indelible emotions.
