Pouring Water On A Drowning Man (Goldwax Records '66) - Синглы / Single_s
Goldwax Records, 1966, USA, UК
#James_Carr
"Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" Drew Baker/Dani McCormick
You push me when I'm falling And you kick me when I'm down I guess I missed my calling Cause I sit up in a cloud
How much more How much more could I stand When you're pouring water On a drowning man
Put me on the right track And then you let me down Stab me in the back Yes, you do, baby Everytime I turn around
Criticize my love, won't you try Just try to understand You're pouring water I got to tell you bout it On a drowning man
You're pouring water On a drowning man You treat me like The fool that I am
You planned it out Like everything you do You put salt in my wound It's sad but it's true
You warm me with your kissing Then you leave me in the cold How can I know your wishes Wanna hear you tell me
When I never been told, alright
I cried in mercy, baby Just try to understand You're pouring water I got to tell you bout it On an old drowning man, yeah
You're pouring water, ha ha You see I'm a drowning man Oh, I got tears in my eyes I'm a drowning man
Don't let me drown, oh, baby I'm a drowning man
No soul singer's repertoire would be complete without a song about the treacherous woman who did him wrong, but "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" pushes the theme past its usual melodramatic boundaries into a desperation that's just a bit scary. While on the surface this recycles any number of clichés about romantic betrayal (the woman in question both kicked the narrator while he was down and stabs him in the back), the cumulative effect manages to generate something like pathos; by the final chorus, this poor guy has been so thoroughly humiliated by the woman he loves that you can't help but wish she would have the decency to lighten up a bit. "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" was a hit for James Carr, and his impassioned performance milked the song's pleas of mercy for everything they were worth. On this tune, Carr matched Otis Redding's churchy fervor with the gruff edginess of Wilson Pickett, but the desperate, wounded undercurrent was all Carr's, and it's what makes this one of the truly timeless performances of soul's troubled genius. by Mark Deming