Cool Water, Cool Thoughts

Back in 1963, waaaay back in 1963, when I was a sophomore at the University of Hawaii Manoa in Honolulu, I became interested in American folk music.

The Kingston Trio was big, as well as Hoyt Axton and Miriam Makeba. Peter, Paul and Mary had begun making their mark in folk music, and I listened to their music on my transistor radio (remember that imported phenomenon?).

One song that played every night because it kept getting requested was “Cool Water.” I have to admit that I called in a request more than a couple of times. I forget exactly who recorded that version of the song—maybe Hank Williams, or the Sons of the Pioneers.

At the time, I considered it a nice song that comforted me during my tedium of studying and trying not to flunk out of college. I had the lyrics memorized, but never gave their meaning much thought.

That’s changed. Last year, I bought myself a tenor ukulele, a far cry from the Goya acoustic guitar I used to play during my college folk group performances. I also bought a book of folk-type music with chord progressions. One song in the book was “Cool Water,” written by Bob Nolan in 1942. The song was 75 years old and it still moved me.

I paid attention to the lyrics this time ... very interesting. It’s a simple story of a man (prospector? wanderer?) and his mule named Dan, as they encounter a mirage. Simple enough, yet I started interpreting the mirage as a vision, and gave religious reference to the various elements in the song.

All day I’ve faced the barren waste

Without a taste of water—cool, clear water.

Old Dan and I with throats burned dry

And souls that cry for water—cool, clear water.

Jeez, I thought, the devil always tempts us. Sometimes it’s an apple, this time it’s a mirage that feeds on our wants and desires.

Keep a-movin’ Dan, don’t you listen to him, Dan!

He’s a devil, not a man

And he spreads the burning sand

With water—cool, clear water.

So then, I thought, who is this “devil, not a man” to whom the singer is referring? It can’t be Dan the mule, can it? I had thought that “Dan” was a nickname for the devil? I was wrong, of course, but see where my mind was leading me?

Dan, can you see that big green tree

Where the water’s runnin’ free

And it’s waiting there for you and me?

I think the “big green tree” is an allegory of Heaven that’s waiting for us to do good things so it can slake our thirst for forgiveness.

The nights are cool, and I’m a fool

Each star’s a pool of water—cool, clear water.

And way up there, He’ll hear our prayer

And show us where there’s water—cool, clear water.

Dan’s feet are sore, he’s yearning for

Just one thing more than water—cool, clear water.

Like me, I guess, he’d like to rest

Where there’s no quest for water—cool, clear water.

Cool water, a taste of Heaven, is our reward. All God wants to hear is that we need the cool, clear water that he offers, along with rest in the shade of the big green tree. Cool, eternal rest, away from the fires of hell. Our ultimate reward is waiting, and we will yearn and suffer no longer.

Or maybe, I’ve been over-thinking this.

“CoolWater” by Marty Robbins ... my favorite version.