River is Wide
The Grass Roots Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴The sky was clear on that windy day
'Till the clear blue sky began to turn to gray
The lightning flashed, the thunder roared above
Then fell a drop of rain to start our love

Let the river get wide, the river gets long, now
The water runs deep as our love gets strong now
So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now

To me

Upon the roof we heard the gentle rain
With the rhythm of our heartbeats, down it came
As it hit each drop our hearts could feel the pain
No one on earth can stop a drop of rain

Let the river get wide, the river gets long, now
The water runs deep as our love gets strong now
So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now
To me

Let the river get wide, the river gets long, now
The water runs deep as our love gets strong now

So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now
To me

Overall Meaning

The Grass Roots’s song The River Is Wide is a romantic ballad that tells the story of two lovers who met on a rainy day. The opening lines describe how the sky was clear and blue until the weather changed and it began to rain. The metaphorical language in the first verse sets the stage for a love story: “Then fell a drop of rain to start our love.”

The chorus repeats the lines “Let the river get wide, the river gets long” as if to say that challenges will come and the couple will face obstacles, but their love will grow ever stronger. The use of the river as a metaphor for love is potent because a river can be calm, but it can also be tumultuous and wild. The last line of the chorus, “So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now to me,” represents a plea from one lover to the other to stay together despite the rough times they may experience.

The last verse of the song describes the couple’s magical moment on a roof during the rain. “With the rhythm of our heartbeats, down it came,” they heard the rain while they were dancing on the roof. The line, “No one on earth can stop a drop of rain,” is a reminder that they are powerless to stop the changes that may happen in their relationship, but they need to let their love flow like the river, deep and strong.

Line by Line Meaning

The sky was clear on that windy day
At the start of our love story, the weather was perfect and everything seemed bright.

'Till the clear blue sky began to turn to gray
However, things changed suddenly and our ideal circumstances became uncertain.

The lightning flashed, the thunder roared above
The turbulence in the sky reflected the turmoil we were experiencing in our hearts.

Then fell a drop of rain to start our love
Ironically, the very thing that caused us discomfort was also what brought us closer together and ignited our passion.

Let the river get wide, the river gets long, now
As our love grew, it became more intense and expansive, like a river that stretches out endlessly.

The water runs deep as our love gets strong now
The depth of our love became deeper and more profound as we continued to nurture it.

So baby, don't you fight and say you belong now
In the face of any obstacles that might try to pull us apart, we must stay committed to each other and fight for our love.

To me
Above all else, we must remember that we belong together and that our love is worth fighting for.

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