Fear of the Water by SYML Lyrics Meaning – Diving Deep into Love’s Turbulent Seas
Lyrics
That I’ve answered before
It lives in my walls
And it’s under the floor
If this was meant for me why does it hurt so much
And if you’re not made for me then why did we fall in love
A knock at my door
I thought I was alone
Unaware of what I thought I needed
I dropped like a stone
If I’m not mistaken then I was the last to know
And if you return for me I’d never want for more
You’re dislocated, don’t be like that
And you smile when you drive in, like you’re never coming back
So hold my body, yeah hold my breath
See your face when I black out, I’m never coming back
Fear of the water x2
You’re dislocated, don’t be like that
And you smile when you drive in, like you’re never coming back
So hold my body, yeah hold my breath
See your face when I black out, I’m never coming back
(Fear of the water x2)
You’re dislocated, don’t be like that
And you smile when you drive in, like you’re never coming back
So hold my body, yeah hold my breath
See your face when I black out, I’m never coming back
Fear of the water x2
There’s a haunting quality to SYML’s ‘Fear of the Water’ that goes beyond its ethereal sound; it’s woven into the fabric of the lyrics themselves. Brian Fennell, the solo force behind the moniker ‘SYML’ (meaning ‘simple’ in Welsh), has an uncanny ability to distill complex emotions into vulnerable and relatable songs. With ‘Fear of the Water,’ he dives into a sea of love, loss, and the human condition.
The song’s journey navigates through the internal struggle of facing one’s deepest fears and vulnerabilities. It’s a masterful blend of evocative lyrics and haunting melodies that pulls you under its spell, inviting a closer examination of the tides that tug at the heart.
A Haunting Call to Inner Demons
The opening lines, ‘Some angel called, That I’ve answered before’, immediately establish a mystical, otherworldly tone that sets the stage for an internal dialogue. The ‘angel,’ possibly a metaphor for a past lover or a version of oneself, signals a repeated challenge — one that resides within the walls and floors of the speaker’s psyche, always present, never fully silenced.
The motif of the song suggests that the ‘angel’ is not a source of solace but rather a harbinger of pain. It forces the listener to contemplate why something supposedly right, like an angel’s call, can elicit such troubled feelings. The emotional architecture of the song navigates this duality, exploring the complexity of human relationships and self-awareness.
The Fall into Love – A Voluntary Plunge?
One of the song’s most wrenching moments comes in its inquiry, ‘If this was meant for me why does it hurt so much, And if you’re not made for me then why did we fall in love?’ It reflects the universal conundrum of love — the push and pull of desire and the fear of unforeseen pain that it may bring. SYML taps into a feeling many can relate to: the sense of predestination in love that doesn’t align with the discomfort it can cause.
Fennell adeptly captures the unpredictability of love, likening it to an unexpected visitor knocking on the door of his heart. The metaphor extends to the fleeting and often blind nature of falling in love – dropping ‘like a stone’ without recognizing the needs one thought were crucial.
The Hidden Meaning Behind ‘Dislocated’
When SYML sings, ‘You’re dislocated, don’t be like that,’ there is a layered message at play. The term ‘dislocated’ suggests something displaced, out of its natural environment, creating a resonant image of disconnect within a relationship. This could represent the displacement felt when two people drift apart, with one partner trying to comprehend and navigate this emotional shift.
Additionally, there’s something pleading in the repetition of ‘don’t be like that’, as if the singer wants to address not just a physical absence, but an emotional withdrawal. It speaks to the human struggle against change and the longing for stability and the familiar, especially when faced with the isolation the prospect of losing a loved one brings.
Memorable Lines: The Visceral Impression of Love
‘So hold my body, yeah hold my breath; See your face when I black out, I’m never coming back.’ These lines capture that last gasp moment of love, of feeling so consumed that the world fades away, leaving only the image of the loved one. It’s an intense portrayal of how love can eclipse consciousness, leaving one breathlessly suspended in its grasp.
The representation of love as a kind of blackout is both incredibly vulnerable and powerful. It lays bare the fear of never returning from such a deep emotional baring, hinting at an experience so profound it’s as if one’s life before that point ceases to exist. The imagery conveys both the fear of losing oneself in love and the desire to remain lost in that transcendent moment.
The Overarching Fear – A Look at the Title
The persistent refrain, ‘Fear of the water’, resonates as a metaphor for the fear of deep emotional commitment and the unknown depths it can lead to. Water, a symbol of emotion and the subconscious, represents the murky, uncharted territories of one’s own feelings. To fear the water, then, is to be apprehensive about diving into the complexities of love and one’s own vulnerabilities.
SYML places the listener at the precipice of a boundless ocean of emotion. This fear of the water might signify a deep-seated anxiety that accompanies the realization of how vast and intense one’s feelings can be, and the recognition of the risk involved in expressing and sharing those feelings with another.
