Two Hands Of Water
Two Hands of Water began as a poem I wrote when I was 23, after a relationship ended because we wanted very different things from life. She wanted excitement, risk and unpredictability. I was the one who preferred solid ground and a safe road home.
The poem never became the song I wanted it to be, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. So it slept for decades.
Now, all these years later, I finally returned to those old words and gave them the rest of their story.
At its heart is an image from the original poem: two souls like two hands of water—once joined, seemingly impossible to separate.
It is a country song about loving someone deeply while realizing that love doesn't always mean two people are meant to travel the same road. There is sadness in letting go, but no bitterness and no regret for being who you are.
Some songs are written in an afternoon.
This one simply needed a few decades to wake up.
Music video
Lyrics
I'll be sad to see you go,
But happy just to watch you leave,
You always chased the open road,
I needed something I could believe.
You wanted fire, you wanted danger,
A little trouble after dark,
I was always looking for a safe way home,
While you were chasing every spark.
Maybe love ain't always enough
When two hearts need different things,
Maybe holding on too tightly
Is what finally breaks the string.
We were like two hands of water,
Once they're joined, who pulls them apart?
You ran like a restless daughter
Of every highway, every bar.
I stayed where the ground was steady,
You followed the wildest stars,
Now you're gone and I'm wondering why
I've still got your arrow in my heart.
I can still see your taillights fading,
Red against the evening rain,
Part of me wanted to run behind you,
Part of me just watched you change.
You said I played the world too careful,
Like tomorrow was guaranteed,
But I never needed life on the edge
To know what you meant to me.
Maybe I could've been more reckless,
Maybe you could've stayed awhile,
But we'd only have become two strangers
Trying hard to fake a smile.
We were like two hands of water,
Once they're joined, who pulls them apart?
You ran like a restless daughter
Of every highway, every bar.
I stayed where the ground was steady,
You followed the wildest stars,
Now you're gone and I'm wondering why
I've still got your arrow in my heart.
I don't blame you for the leaving,
And I won't blame myself for staying me,
Some folks need the edge of midnight,
Some need somewhere safe to sleep.
But every now and then I wonder
When the night gets still and dark,
If somewhere underneath that wild side
You still carry my little mark.
We were like two hands of water,
Once they're joined, who pulls them apart?
Time can change the shape between us,
But it can't undo the start.
You went where the road could take you,
I stayed beneath familiar stars,
And after all these years I'm smiling
At that arrow in my heart.
I'll be sad to see you go,
Happy to watch you leave...
Funny how two hands of water
Still leave something underneath.
