Down By The Water Guitar Tab

To Bring You My Love Tabs:

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Date: Sat, 2 Dec 1995 13:25:44 +0800 (WST)
From: "Greg O'Beirne" 
Subject: TAB: "Down By The Water" by PJ Harvey


-------------------------------
 Down By The Water - PJ Harvey
-------------------------------
transcribed by Greg O'Beirne (gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au)

Bass Riff (fuzz-distorted)

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------  x 7
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------5-------
E--0-----------5---5---5---5---5---0-----------3-------------------

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------  x 1
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E--0-----------3-----------5-------0-----------0-X-----------------


Strings:
(either play this bit with plenty of vibrato, or quietly feedback on it)

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G--9~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


Pizzicato Strings:

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------12--------------11----------9-------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


End Twinkly-Bit:

(Adlib around these)
   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E----------12----------12------10~~~~~~~~~-12----------12------10~-
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------9-----------9-------7~~~~~~~~~~-9-----------9-------7---
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


Lyrics:
-------
  I lost my heart
  Under the bridge
  To that little girl
  So much to me
  And now I moan
  And now I holler
  She'll never know
  Just what I've found
  That blue eyed girl           (that blue eyed girl)
  She said "no more"            (she said "no more")
  And that blue eyed girl       (that blue eyed girl)
  Became blue eyed whore        (big blue eyed whore)
  Down by the water             (down by the water)
  I took her hand               (I took her hand)
  Just like my daughter         (just like my daughter)
  See her again                 (see her again)

[strings bit]

[pizzicato bit]

  Oh help me Jesus
  Come through the storm
  I had to lose her
  To do her harm
  I heard her holler            (I heard her holler)
  I heard her moan              (I heard her moan)
  My lovely daughter            (My lovely daughter)
  I took her home               (I took her home)

[twinkly bit]

  Little fish, Big fish, swimming in the water,      x8
  Come back here, man, gimme my daughter.           /



Any Comments/Corrections/Suggestions welcome,
--
Greg O'Beirne
woyf@perth.dialix.oz.au
gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
http://www.uwa.edu.au/student/gobeirne/

From gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au Sat Dec  2 05:24:33 1995
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Date: Sat, 2 Dec 1995 13:23:28 +0800 (WST)
From: "Greg O'Beirne" 
To: OLGA 
Subject: Yet ANOTHER correction... Down By The Water
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Status: O


Hello again Olgaperson,

I made a slight timing mistake on part of this song.  What follows is the 
correct version.  I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused
y'all :) It can't be easy replacing heaps of slightly mistaken tabs and
crds :)

Cheers,
--
Greg O'Beirne
gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
http://www.uwa.edu.au/student/gobeirne/

From gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au Fri Dec  1 05:58:37 1995
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Date: Fri, 1 Dec 1995 13:57:02 +0800 (WST)
From: "Greg O'Beirne" 
To: OLGA 
Subject: TAB: "Down By The Water" by PJ Harvey
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Status: O


-------------------------------
 Down By The Water - PJ Harvey
-------------------------------
transcribed by Greg O'Beirne (gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au)

Bass Riff (fuzz-distorted)

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------  x 7
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------5-------
E--0-----------5---5---5---5---5---0-----------3-------------------

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------  x 1
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E--0-----------3-----------5-------0-----------0-X-----------------


Strings:
(either play this bit with plenty of vibrato, or quietly feedback on it)

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G--9~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


Pizzicato Strings:

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------12------11------9---------------12------11------9-------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


End Twinkly-Bit:

(Adlib around these)
   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E----------12----------12------10~~~~~~~~~-12----------12------10~-
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------

   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   1   +   2   +   3   +   4   +   
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------9-----------9-------7~~~~~~~~~~-9-----------9-------7---
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------


Lyrics:
-------
  I lost my heart
  Under the bridge
  To that little girl
  So much to me
  And now I moan
  And now I holler
  She'll never know
  Just what I've found
  That blue eyed girl           (that blue eyed girl)
  She said "no more"            (she said "no more")
  And that blue eyed girl       (that blue eyed girl)
  Became blue eyed whore        (big blue eyed whore)
  Down by the water             (down by the water)
  I took her hand               (I took her hand)
  Just like my daughter         (just like my daughter)
  See her again                 (see her again)

[strings bit]

[pizzicato bit]

  Oh help me Jesus
  Come through the storm
  I had to lose her
  To do her harm
  I heard her holler            (I heard her holler)
  I heard her moan              (I heard her moan)
  My lovely daughter            (My lovely daughter)
  I took her home               (I took her home)

[twinkly bit]

  Little fish, Big fish, swimming in the water,      x8
  Come back here, man, gimme my daughter.           /



Any Comments/Corrections/Suggestions welcome,
--
Greg O'Beirne
woyf@perth.dialix.oz.au
gobeirne@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
http://www.uwa.edu.au/student/gobeirne/

Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net

Source: GuitarMasta.net
http://www.guitarmasta.net/p/pj_harvey/.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture terry Rhythm Player	#1 by terry terry watts at Jan 31, 1971 at 3:56 AM EST
	This song is about how a woman who finds her daughter under a bridge. She had just lost her virginity and she's no longer the little girl her mother had known. She takes her home as an adult and the fish represent how she wishes she could have her little girl back.

No Picture katie Average	#2 by katie focner at Feb 20, 1973 at 3:42 AM EST
	I didn't quite interpret this the same way. I think that this song isn't necessarily an allusion to her daughter loosing her virginity and the mother wanting her little girl back, but something more direct. I think that the disturbed narrator killed her daughter; the music itself and the strain in her voice supports this idea. Also, I think that the singer is moving in and out of reality; one minute she knows that she's killed her daughter, the next, she doesn't. "That blue-eyed girl/ Became blue-eyed whore"= This is what pushes the mother over the edge: she catches her daughter with a man. "Just like my daughter/ See her again"= The girl that she killed is no longer the same girl as her daughter; she's disassociated the two people in her mind (living, innocent daughter vs dead, non-virginal girl). She's disturbed enough to think that the dead body merely resembles her daughter, and she's wondering when she'll get to see her daughter again (she thinks that her daughter is gone, not dead). "I took her home"= A reference to the previous Jesus statement, she sent her daughter to heaven, away from her being a whore. "Little fish, big fish swimming in the water/ Come back here man gimme my daughter"= Since she killed her near the river, she's returned to it, or another river. I think that as she's saying this part, she is more detached from reality. She thinks that the fish is the one who stole her daughter and she's asking him for her back. When I hear this song, I picture PJ sitting dirty on a river bank in the dark, rocking and staring blankly into the water, muttering at the fish to return her daughter.

No Picture bradley Wanna Be	#3 by bradley goodman at Jun 21, 1974 at 1:38 AM EST
	This song is weird. I dont know what it means, I just like the buzz sound throughout the song.

No Picture phil Average	#4 by phil gdfgr at Jan 3, 1976 at 8:59 AM EST
	I do not think this song has to do with any sexual abuse in it's literal context. 'Daughter' is symbolic. What is a daughter but a young girl that a woman has created, held within her, birthed, nurtured, and will protect at all costs? When we are little, our main role in our world is the role of daughter, and when we become older, we become sexual beings, girlfreinds, wives, employees, etc, and rarely stop to think of ourselves as our parents daughters... When a girl is a small girl, she has never been a mother, an aunt, a teacher, or anything esle. She is a daughter, an innocent, curious, naive, daughter. Women often unintentionally try to keep thier daughters innocent and to themselves, forever, and in a subconsience attempt to do this, women often sheild thier daughters from the joys of life as they can present a threat to the daughters well being or mothers fear that they may; like sexual pleasure, men(women), and outside influences. Rarely done for any reason other than love, but very oppressive to the daughter just the same. I think every woman had an inner innocence that is now like an inner child. The inner child is so hard to find and relate with. I guess if you see the daughter as a symbolic part of her and not actual offspring, you find a different meaning altogher and that is how I see it. I do not think miscarriage has anything to do with it, and although I first thought it was about an abortion, I have concluded that I was still taking 'daughter' and 'loose her' and all that, way too literally. Abortion, I have concluded, is not relative to this song. I just thought I would throw you all some food for thought. I will summerize what I think quickly: The singer is looking back at the discovery of her sexuality, whether it was through masturbation or her first gratifying sexual experiance. While she loved what she "found" and could not deny herself the pleasure, she had an inner shame about it, so she tried to essentially hide her sensual maturing side from her innocent simpler side. But she could not do it forever, and eventually she lost the innocence. Most people dont think of it too deeply, or they just have sexual liberation/sexual shame conflicts within and the conflict is not something they analyze... They deal or they don't deal, and don't realize it either way...But I think some do, but every girl/woman will all do it differently. When we totally loose our innocence, we may feel liberated, but still, the complicated days of innocence are somthing we still desire at times. In the transition life can be downright painful. When she says: 'Little fish, big fish' , she is creating a metaphor, the fish are her innocence and inner child(little fish), and the big fish, who in most cases will swallow the little fish, is the new, sexual, more empowered, her... The big fish may have swallowed the little fish, either way the big fish has taken the little fish, and sometimes she misses the little fish. At some time during her transition into a sexual creature, she may try to find it, but cannot. "Come back here man give me my daughter": A plea to go back to her simpler times, before conflict and shame. She to be almost literally asking the man who took it(which I have no reason to believe she did not willingly participate, though we do go through a time when we blame the men who we have our first sexual encounters with, so that may tie in in that way)'it', for good; to give 'it' back as a desperate attempt to get back what she could not give back to herself... 'just like my daughter to see her again' : I think that is her way of showing her innocence was succumbing to her new, sensually aware self, and she tried to keep the innocence inside alive, with all the ignorant bliss it can bring, but her innocent side was not a permanent thing, and was bound to be lost in the new her... "I lost my heart under the bridge to that little girl, so much to me" I do not think 'that little girl is her daughter, or innocence, but rather the other side of her conscience... Like the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, the little girl is the temptress, the devil on the shoulder... She lost her heart to that little girl, and though she tries to keep her daughter from seeing her, and hide what she has discovered "she'll never know just what I found"... But little girl(her tempted side, her sexual side)obviously will not leave the daugher alone, and the daughter (her innocence)continues to see her( the little girl, the temptress and maturity)again... The transition from being your fathers daughter to your boy(or girl) freinds lover, the transition from girl to woman, the transition from innocent to not innocent.... it is an emotionally tyring time so intense many girls are depressed, angry, scared, rebellious, and conflicted... Sleep overs with friends or sleeping WITH friends... Playing dolls or getting dolled up... Being a good girl or being a young, curious woman... The pain and excitement are very stormy, especially if the seeds of religion have been planted in your psyche, you may find yourself pleading "Oh help me jesus, come through the storm." If adolescence is not a storm and not a time we are conflicted about our spiritual side as well as our sexual side, then what is it exactly, other than in it;s literal sense? "I had to loose her to do her harm"... Well, the only way to harm the other side, to would be to loose it, vice versa... You cannot continue to grow as a woman, emotionally or sexually, if you hold on to your childhood and innocence. You may try to, and think you can just adjust that side... But that just makes yo naive. Naivity is ignorant and unhealthy, even if it is blissful for a while. So you would try to subdue that side, and realize you can't, it doesnt work that way, and that you cant ever return to being that innocent child, the 'pure daughter', now that you have seen, or "found" your "mother"(mother as in the woman you have become, a sexual and creative being of maturity), and since you can not subdue the little girl, or change her, you would have to loose her... And hence a woman is born... Though many a woman will still look back and wish they could be that little, innocent daughter again... And in dreams they often are. I think we look at our selves as women(big fish) and try to find the peace we once had as a small fish(innocent daughter)and try to find her even if it is just for a moment, so that we can remember the things we knew, that we didnt even know we knew, before so many other things in life(sex, relationships, etc)overcame us... The blue eyed whore was the way she was viewing herself. She was a blued girl, now she is a blue eyed girl. Holler and moan are likely the sound of her innocent daughter dying. Or, they are the sound of the little girl, taunting her with the sexual pleasures... I think it depends if you are looking at the first part of the song, or the latter reference.

No Picture dylan Average	#5 by dylan markus at Sep 5, 1976 at 1:30 PM EST
	I agree with hellas "give me my daughter" could be a reference to a miscarriage but there's definate sexual abuse references in there as well

No Picture Jarrett Lead Player	#6 by Jarrett Sandlin at Jun 13, 1979 at 7:25 PM EST
	Yes,like she thinks her daughter is not pure anymore...something like Carrie's mother...it has a symbolic quality nonethless...like a fairytale. And she blames it on the "fish"=sex.

No Picture inaki Wanna Be	#7 by inaki laris at Feb 26, 1980 at 10:37 AM EST
	i agree with certain parts of idontdoubt's comment but basically this is the river situated where pj harvey used to live as a child and how she wanted to be a boy initially because she used to "hang" around with brother's mates and usually she would be left out and voila down by the river covers that. nothing to do with her "child" whatsoever

No Picture jimmy Wanna Be	#8 by jimmy rodrigues at Jul 11, 1984 at 6:28 PM EST
	I agree with what everyone says... I just wanted to say this is a great song. Wierd, but great.

No Picture bec Average	#9 by bec madden at Oct 12, 1987 at 11:56 PM EST
	I think that this song is about a young girl maybe being sexually abused under a bridge or losing her virginaty under a bridge near river and Pj Harvey is her mother...something like that its really strange but a work of art.

No Picture !Ace Rhythm Player	#10 by !Ace Youngs at Nov 4, 1989 at 7:17 PM EST
	PJ Havey's Pronounciation of Water/Daughter > Everyone

No Picture lindsey Average	#11 by lindsey Rogogo at Aug 7, 1990 at 8:48 PM EST
	sorry its idoubtthat not idontdoubt :P

No Picture Nic Rhythm Player	#12 by Nic F at Jun 12, 1991 at 10:01 PM EST
	I always regarded the bridge and the water as symbolic rather than literal, but the lost innocence of a mothers' daughter was plainly apparent.

No Picture Turd Fergeson Lead Player	#13 by Turd Fergeson Fergeson at Jan 15, 1992 at 12:08 AM EST
	I fucking love this song :-) I think it's talking about a women who was invincible(Walking on For years and years and years) then she falls in love (Now the water to my ankles Now the water to my knees Think of him all waxy wings) and she listen and does what ever the man says(Mary Mary what your man said ) This is definitely one of my favortie songs of all time

No Picture Chris Rhythm Player	#14 by Chris Marcoux at Jan 31, 1992 at 3:25 PM EST
	i think this is about a crazy woman who finds something out about her daughter and is angry at her. she gets so mad she kills her down by the water. she heard her daughter screaming and she was telling her to stop but she didn't. she takes the body home, then realises what she's done. she killed her in the water so she is askin for the fish to bring her daughter back

No Picture katie Average	#15 by katie focner at Dec 2, 1992 at 5:53 AM EST
	As I said in my earlier comments, I did at once think it was possibly about abortion or miscarriage. That was the first 2-3 times I heard it. After the third time, when I really listened to the lyrics, I realized it couldn't possibly be about a pregnancy of any literal kind; not an abortion, not a miscarriage, and not infanticide. The following lines show that this is not a fetus and not an infant: "That blue-eyed girl She said no more That blue-eyed girl Became blue-eyed whore Down by the water I took her hand Just like my daughter See her again" How on earth would this have anything to do with a pregnancy or fetus? And how likely is it that a baby could disobey and "see her again"? I don't see why/how it would be about any literal murder or death at all. All the talk of fishes at the end of the song should show just how very symbolic the song is. Same as the blue eyes, I dont see how literal blue eyes would have anything to do with anything relevent to anything else she says. Severedvox basicly said what I was trying to say, only doing so neater and more to the point, lol. I hadnt noticed Severed's interpretation when Iposted or I would have just said that 95% of what he/she said is what I would say too... And I could have saved myself so much time! What Raul7_7 said is interesting too... The fact that she grew up with boys down by the water was somthinig I did not know, but it helps explain why the water meant so much to the "story" of her sexual maturation. Growing up with boys and penis envy also explains why she is so focused on the 'girl' and the 'daughter' whilst discovering her sexual self; they aren't just great metaphors, but they have a real almost literal purpose as the metaphors as well. That just enriches the symbolism even further. Very cool.

No Picture Berenice Average	#16 by Berenice Issaris at Jul 17, 1998 at 10:08 AM EST
	I always assumed it was about infanticide. Or, perhaps, an abortion.

No Picture Thomas Average	#17 by Thomas Buckman at Aug 15, 2000 at 10:48 AM EST
	I'm amazed no one got the religious references. I'm not trying to be snooty - it's just painfully obvious, not to mention that so much of PJ's early work is fraught with biblical references. The lyrics imho come from the perspective of someone who has been taught religion for years and years but not entirely believed it ("Mary, what your man said" (ie. Jesus), and the defiant repetition of "prove it to me!") and in the end has a divine experience of her own. There is also a blatant reference to the legend of Icarus and Daedalus ("waxy wings melted down into the sea"). I think this is thrown in there because, as she is walking into the water to see what happens, she is remembering other stories she has been told and how miracles failed those characters.

No Picture Guitar Master Wanna Be	#18 by Guitar Master J at Oct 16, 2000 at 6:17 AM EST
	i think she could be looking at her self in a past tense for example "I lost my heart Under the bridge To that little girl So much to me" and she could have realized what had happened and made her feel in the present "And now I'm moan And now I holler" be some how guiding her out that situation like protecting her trying to keep her from getting as far as she did in her present moment "She'll never know just what I found " thinking she could save her somehow "blue eyed girl" sometimes society perceives innocence and purity with angels white skin blue eyes "Became blue-eyed whore " she was taken or gave her self "I took her hand Just like my daughter " What bond and love could be stronger then a mother and daughter. The bond with that a woman haves with her self and purity. "see her again I had to lose her To do her harm I heard her holler I heard her moan " as in she couldn't help her and now she is begging to recognize herself in her present tense "My lovely daughter I took her home " She somehow subsided to what happened she's not beaten just guilty she couldn't change the outcome. She address Jesus in these album in practically all her songs. "Little fish, big fish swimming in the water " how we are baptized we are pure again we are reborn and this what she is trying to do knowing she couldn't save her otherwise "Come back here man gimme my daughter" give her self her purity I love this song I hope I didn't look so much into it but she does that to me pj is awesome.

No Picture Dylan Rhythm Player	#19 by Dylan Fitzgerald at Jan 5, 2001 at 10:12 PM EST
	"So in a strange way I feel connected to this song, it's strange." Should read through my posts before sending them :\|

No Picture Frost Wanna Be	#20 by Frost Bite at Jan 22, 2001 at 6:41 AM EST
	I thought it was about abortion too, and PJ is closemouthed, so I'm not sure. This song distresses me because I can't figure it out. Also, it's creepy. But I love it anyway.

No Picture slapslappopslap Badass	#21 by slapslappopslap at May 16, 2001 at 12:18 PM EST
	lyrics seem to be about using the ocean to clean onesself of bad memories of a past love. Still, the ending is really fantastic. I would sing along if I knew that no one was around to hear me.

No Picture Dakota Average	#22 by Dakota Keyes at Dec 19, 2001 at 11:34 AM EST
	I fucking love this song :-) I think it's talking about a women who was invincible(Walking on For years and years and years) then she falls in love (Now the water to my ankles Now the water to my knees Think of him all waxy wings) and she listen and does what ever the man says(Mary Mary what your man said ) This is definitely one of my favortie songs of all time

No Picture Meaty Average	#23 by Meaty at Aug 18, 2002 at 3:03 PM EST
	"Some critics have taken my writing so literally to the point that they'll listen to 'Down by the Water' and believe I have actually given birth to a child and drowned her."

No Picture Neal Average	#24 by Neal Breen at Apr 3, 2004 at 1:12 PM EST
	Help! What does this song mean?

No Picture james Rhythm Player	#25 by james dobson at Apr 17, 2004 at 10:12 PM EST
	Great song. It really can mean anything, but I think that PJ often refers to a daughter in her songs. Maybe she has lost a baby in the past.

No Picture Dan Average	#26 by Dan Johnson at Sep 30, 2004 at 10:10 AM EST
	This song quite scared me really. I lost a certain innocence I had under a bridge and I just felt like a complete whore. "That blue-eyed girl Became blue-eyed whore" Oh and I have blue eyes. So in a strange way I feel connected to this song, it's strange. To be honest, looking at the lyrics, in one way it could be about a girl getting sexually abused under a bridge and the singer sees her as a daughter figure (not necessarily her daughter) Or if you look at it another way, it's as if the singer is the one who sexually abused the girl under the bridge, and is regretting it.

No Picture DemolitionLover Wanna Be	#27 by DemolitionLover ^^v^^ at Dec 28, 2005 at 1:04 AM EST
	Spot on chogg. And there's the notion of testing faith - 'Leave my clothes on the beach, I'm walking down into the sea' - with echoes of suicide. She's walking into the sea, and leaving it to / testing God's will.