Underwater

The origins of this song began over ten years ago. I found myself being compelled to write about the sheer emancipation of spirit that frolicking in water brings; water, life’s panacea. Now, the strange thing about this song is at the time I had begun to write it I couldn’t swim. Not only could I not swim, but I had an abject fear of being in water. I had tried on many occasions as a child to learn how to swim, but I just could not get the hang of it. The sum of all my fears of being in water, like most people with this fear was the fact that I had almost drowned as a child...twice.

A few years passed after writing the beginnings of Underwater and like a lot of my songs, it remained in my consciousness quite happily torpid until awakened. I still could not swim and while it would have been nice to have been able to, I did not find it a huge inconvenience in my life.

Then came the catalyst; I found myself in a situation where not being able to swim would have meant that I would be missing out on one of the most important moments in my life. I was to spend twelve glorious days with the man of my dreams in a paradise island resort – how could I not swim? Thankfully I broached the subject with my beau who had the solution; he would teach me how to swim. I did doubt that I would be able to learn within that time, since I had spent most of my childhood trying to learn, but never got past the fear. And there, indeed was the crux – it was pure, undeniable terror that was keeping me from learning how to swim.

Would you believe I learnt how to swim in a few mere hours? It was trust which finally overcame the fear. I trusted the love of my life and with his gentle guidance and in the safety of his presence, I was treading water in no time; segue from frantic strain of body against water to a silken glide of muscles relaxing into the groove.

The moment I began to actually swim I felt something heal in me. Not only was I in my own personal Shangri La with my soul mate, but I was now overcoming a monumental obstacle in my life. I found myself suddenly so at home in the water, as if none of my past fears were ever something I had to contend with. I was free, I was more alive than I had ever been, I was happy, joyful, ecstatic, and I was surrounded by this substance that was making me feel so unfathomably good!

In that stunning swimming pool, in that cool water, under the moon and the stars, there was only my love and I ... and time stood still for us. From such fear came such liberation, such healing, such wonder and indescribable love. The song, Underwater breathed deeply as it arose from its slumber...

One of my most cherished life lessons was learnt during this period. It’s about the things we are most resistant to in life. I have found that sometimes, the thing we are most resistant to is the thing we not only enjoy the most, but are quite often most brilliant at. Today, once I get into a pool, you’d be hard pressed to get me out of it again! It’s one of my life’s greatest pleasures, obviously made infinitely greater when my husband is swimming alongside me.

One of my favourite quotes from the legendary Bruce Lee comes to mind when I write this blog. He says,

“Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; you put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; you put it into a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
Bruce Lee

To learn to swim I had to embrace the thing that I feared; water. Our bodies are made up of this substance and yet we can have such fear of something that is an integral part of us. That applies to so much in life, perhaps we fear things sometimes because we are what we fear….food for thought at any rate.

I do hope you enjoy listening to my acoustic version of Underwater. This video comes complete with furtive glances, effervescent eyebrow antics and the occasional pout! It is after all a little bit of a saucy song so it called for a few saucy escapades.

To view Underwater – go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHtatsBykyk

To hear Underwater ‘in Fusion’ go to www.prema.net

Lyrics to Underwater by Prema

Separate the bad from the good
And see the amber in the wood
Rush to me like a wave coming fast from the open sea

Get the story from within my eyes
So far below there can be no lies
Rush to me like a wave coming fast from the open sea

And I feel love, washing through me
And I feel love, washing through you
And I feel love, washing through us, so endlessly
Timeless and holy

Here underwater where the angels fly
Here underwater you can ask me why
Here underwater baby you and I,
So alive and holding on, and breathing
Here underwater we can reach for the stars
Here underwater we are Venus and Mars
Here underwater baby you and I,
So alive and holding on, and breathing on

Touch my skin it gets softer still
Scratch my back with an ancient quill
Rush to me like a wave coming fast from the open sea

Educate me in your ways
Then let the sunlight spill her rays
Rush to me like a wave coming fast from the open sea

I feel it stronger when it flows
I will follow love wherever it goes
I just want to ride it nice and slow

‘Cos it could lead us to a better place
We could be together face to face
We could dive deep into the blue
We could be together me and you
And we could live on