The Water is Wide (song)

"The Water Is Wide" (also called "O Waly, Waly") is a folk song of Scottish origin, based on lyrics that partly date to the 1600s. It remains popular in the 21st century. Cecil Sharp published the song in Folk Songs From Somerset (1906). It is related to Child Ballad 204 (Roud number 87), Jamie Douglas, which in turn refers to the ostensibly unhappy first marriage of James Douglas, 2nd Marquis of Douglas to Lady Barbara Erskine.

The imagery of the lyrics describes the challenges of love: "Love is handsome, love is kind" during the novel honeymoon phase of any relationship. However, as time progresses, "love grows old, and waxes cold." Even true love, the lyrics say, can "fade away like morning dew."

The modern lyric for "The Water Is Wide" was consolidated and named by Cecil Sharp in 1906 from multiple older sources in southern England, following English lyrics with very different stories and styles, but the same meter. Earlier sources were frequently published as broadsheets without music. Performers or publishers would insert, remove and adapt verses from one piece to another: floating verses are also characteristic of hymns and blues verses. Lyrics from different sources could be used with different melodies of the same metre. Consequently, each verse in the modern song may not have been originally composed in the context of its surrounding verses, nor be consistent in theme.

The Water is Wide may be considered a family of lyrics with a particular hymn-like tune.

O Waly Waly (Wail, Wail) may be sometimes a particular lyric, sometimes a family tree of lyrics, sometimes Jamie Douglas, sometimes one melody or another with the correct meter, and sometimes versions of the modern compilation The Water is Wide (usually with the addition of the verse starting O Waly, Waly). Benjamin Britten used the melody and verses of The Water is Wide for his arrangement—which does not have the O Waly, Waly verse, yet is titled Waly, Waly. A different melody is used for the song When Cockleshells turn Silver Bells, also subtitled Waly, Waly. Yet another melody for O Waly, Waly is associated with the Lord Jamie Douglas lyric.

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