Down By The Water

About Down By The Water

PJ Harvey's mainstream breakthrough in the US was this menacing tune about a woman who drowns her daughter and returns to the scene of the crime, whispering, "little fish, big fish swimming in the water, come back here, man, gimme my daughter." The first part of the haunting refrain was taken from Lead Belly's blues rendition of the folk standard "Salty Dog Blues." Harvey was hesitant to reveal the meaning behind the song, saying it was "a song I didn't want to put a label on too much, like this isn't a song about some woman drowning her baby. .

From the album: Rock'n'roll Party