Deeper Water

Album: This is PiL (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • John Lydon sings here about going into the creative unknown. He explained to Mojo magazine: "I drive boats with my wife, Nora. One thing I know: if you're in a storm at sea, go out and to the deeper water, it's easier to ride out. So there's Johnny Rotten, going ever deeper and deeper in the wonderful world of music."

    "The song came out of a little pattern that (guitarist) Lu Edmonds had, and a heap of conversations we'd had on tour, like Lu's family have got admirals in its history," he continued. "When he was very young, his family bought a yacht and took them around the world! From that, I literally wrote on the spot, went straight into record in a flurry live format, in front of a load of British journalists, who'd come to check out PiL in the studio!"

    "So, it's a song all of us feel very deeply emotionally about, about smiling in the face of adversity," Lydon concluded. "Face the storm. I will not drown. Anything is possible. The more you pile the pressure on, actually, the better the work. And the more inside yourself you go, and the more outwardly you can project."

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