Decemberists, The - Rusalka, Rusalka / The Wild Rushes Lyrics






Rusalka, Rusalka your arms out of water
Your hair like an alien bloom
Dark-eyed Rusalka, your brow tressed in flowers
Pale in a liminal moon
And all that you are is a star on the water

When first I went swimming, I heeded no warning
And dared breach your rippling pool
As I lulled and lingered, the ring slipped my finger
And drifted down the deepening cool
And all that I want is to fall in your shallows

And now we are wed, the water our bed
And bank to bank property lake
And you are my wild-eyed rusalka, my river bride
Drag me down, take me away
And here we will lie, you and I, 'neath the cold, dark sky

Beware the wild rushes, my mother told me
That grow on the bank side along the salt sea
But I being young, I heeded her none
So to the wild rushes the wind carried me

The summer was here and the sun it was high
And to the wild rushes I came by and by
And there took my seat and dipped in my feet
When through the wild rushes, a voice sweetly cried

Come down, my little darling, come closer to me
The water is warm; it is salty and free
I long for your touch but I won't ask too much
And I, being foolish, walked in to my knees

Come down, little darling, and lay at my breast
Oh come a little closer and I'll do the rest
I waited so long for a lover to come
And I, being foolish, walked in to my chest

Come down, my little darling, oh farther come in
For deeper the water, the sweeter the sin
My lily lies here, if you'd only draw near
And I, being foolish, went in to my chin

Oh come, my little darling, do you feel my cool breath
Do you feel my arms around you so warm and so wet?
Swept from my feet, she pulled me beneath
And in the wild rushes, I went to my death





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Decemberists, The Rusalka, Rusalka / The Wild Rushes Comments
  1. t.... ....

    definitely best song on the album. this song would have fit perfectly on hazards of love.
    why do all the best decemberists songs involve a good drowning?

  2. A.... R....

    Truly believe this surpasses Mariner's Revenge as a storytelling song. Highlight of the album and one of their best songs period

  3. N.... N....

    This feels like a classic Decemberists song-- the folkloric subject, the structure. And of course, it ends in drowning.

    N.... N....

    At least we won’t feel it

  4. M.... C....

    The Wild Rushes must be about drugs & partying, to my mind. I mean, what other kind of "wild rushes" does your mother warn you about? What other wild rushes seductively lure men to their deaths?
    And the Rusalka is a Slavic/Russian mermaid legend, a river siren that would lure men in only to entangled in her hair and drown. Kind of timely with men being seduced by Russian lies, I'd venture.

    M.... C....

    Could just be a song about not going down to the water to look for mythological mermaid creatures too.

    M.... C....

    Wild rushes are like undertows or water that looks still but is a heavy current..

    M.... C....

    What are you guys on about? Rushes are a plant that grows in or near water.
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juncaceae

  5. G.... Q....

    Hands down best song on this album.

    G.... Q....

    Agreed reminds me of The Island off The Crane Wife

    G.... Q....

    I’m a huge Crane Wife fan and this song is ecstasy

    G.... Q....

    I wish it was just Rusalka... Five minutes of it would be auditorily orgasmic.

  6. M.... D....

    "Rusalka, Rusalka / The Wild Rushes"

    Rusalka, Rusalka your arms out of water
    Your hair like an alien bloom
    Dark-eyed Rusalka, your brow tressed in flowers
    Pale in a liminal moon
    And all that you are is a star on the water

    When first I went swimming, I heeded no warning
    And dared breach your rippling pool
    As I lulled and lingered, the ring slipped my finger
    And drifted down the deepening cool
    And all that I want is to fall in your shallows

    And now we are wed, the water our bed
    And bank to bank property lake
    And you are my wild-eyed Rusalka, my river bride
    Drag me down, take me away
    And here we will lie, you and I, 'neath the cold, dark sky

    Beware the wild rushes, my mother told me
    That grow on the bank side along the salt sea
    But I being young, I heeded her none
    So to the wild rushes the wind carried me

    The summer was here and the sun it was high
    And to the wild rushes I came by and by
    And there took my seat and dipped in my feet
    When through the wild rushes, a voice sweetly cried

    Come down, my little darling, come closer to me
    The water is warm; it is salty and free
    I long for your touch but I won't ask too much
    And I, being foolish, walked in to my knees

    Come down, little darling, and lay at my breast
    Oh come a little closer and I'll do the rest
    I waited so long for a lover to come
    And I, being foolish, walked in to my chest

    Come down, my little darling, oh farther come in
    For deeper the water, the sweeter the sin
    My lily lies here, if you'd only draw near
    And I, being foolish, went in to my chin

    Oh come, my little darling, do you feel my cool breath
    Do you feel my arms around you so warm and so wet?
    Swept from my feet, she pulled me beneath
    And in the wild rushes, I went to my death

  7. S.... R....

    I love this so much! It's interesting to think about it as speaking metaphorically about toxic relationships (but it's more fun to take it literally)

    S.... R....

    I believe it is meant to be taken literally. The Decemberists base a ton of their work on folklore of different cultures, the rusalka being a Slavic water elemental which lures and kills men. Like a lot of their songs, it tells a story, straight up, like a fairy tale. That's what folk music is all about :)

    S.... R....

    It can be literal and still have echoes in real-life scenarios.

    S.... R....

    Interesting, Sabriel!