Bright Blue Rose

Lyrics: Irish born (Co. Cork) singer/songwriter Jimmy MacCarthy.
Vocals: Sligo native and traditional Irish singer Tommy Flemming.

The bright blue rose in the above title refers to Christ. To many the meaning of “I skimmed across black water” is about going through life’s constant ups and downs, without fully immersing oneself in religion. However, other people may have a different understanding of the song’s meaning.

Bright Blue Rose

I skimmed across black water, without once submerging,
Onto the banks of an urban morning.
That hungers the first light, much much more,
Than mountains ever do.
And she like a ghost beside me, goes down with the ease of a dolphin,
And emerges unlearned, unshamed, unharmed,
For she is the perfect creature, natural in every feature,
And I am the geek with the alchemists’ stone.
For all of you who must discover,
For all who seek to understand.
For having left the path of others,
And you find a very special hand.
And it is a holy thing, and it is a precious time,
And it is the only way.
Forget-me-nots among the snow, it’s always been and so it goes,
To ponder his death and his life eternally.
For all of you who must discover,
For all who seek to understand.
For having left the path of others,
And you find a very special hand.
And it is a holy thing,
And it is the only way.
Forget-me-nots among the snow, it’s always been and so it goes,
To ponder his death and his life eternally.
One bright blue rose outlives all those,
Two thousand years and still it goes,
To ponder his death and his life eternally.

END