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| ==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| It has been suggested that the song may have originally arisen out of American ].<ref name=Studwell1997>S. M. Studwell |
It has been suggested that the song may have originally arisen out of American ].<ref name=Studwell1997>{{Cite book |first=S. M. |last=Studwell |title=The Americana Song Reader |location=New York |publisher=Haworth Press |year=1997 |page=82 |isbn=0789001500 }}</ref> The earliest printing of the song is from 1852, when the lyrics were published with similar lyrics to those used today, but with a very different tune.<ref name=Studwell1997/> It was reprinted again two years later with the same lyrics and another tune. The modern tune was first recorded with the lyrics in 1881, mentioning ] in ''The Franklin Square Song Collection'' but not making it clear whether he was the composer or adapter.<ref name=Studwell1997/> | ||
| ==Meaning== | ==Meaning== | ||
Revision as of 00:43, 13 December 2010
| "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Written | USA |
| Published | 1852 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is an English language nursery rhyme, and a popular children's song, often sung as a round. It can also be an 'action' nursery rhyme where singers sit opposite one another and 'row' forwards and backwards with joined hands. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19236.
Lyrics
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The most common modern version is:
- Row, row, row your boat,
- Gently down the stream.
- Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
- Life is but a dream.
Origins
It has been suggested that the song may have originally arisen out of American minstrelsy. The earliest printing of the song is from 1852, when the lyrics were published with similar lyrics to those used today, but with a very different tune. It was reprinted again two years later with the same lyrics and another tune. The modern tune was first recorded with the lyrics in 1881, mentioning Eliphalet Oram Lyte in The Franklin Square Song Collection but not making it clear whether he was the composer or adapter.
Meaning
The lyrics have often been used as a metaphor for life's difficult choices, and many see the boat as referring to one's self or a group with which one identifies. Rowing is a skillful, if tedious, practice that takes perfection but also directs the vessel. When sung as a group, the act of rowing becomes a unifier, as oars must be in sync in a rowboat. The idea that man travels along a certain stream suggests boundaries in the path of choices and in free will. The third line recommends that challenges should be greeted in stride while open to joy with a smile. The final line, "life is but a dream", is perhaps the most meaningful. With a religious point of view, life and the physical plane may be regarded as having equivalent value as that of a dream, such that troubles are seen in the context of a lesser reality once one has awakened. Conversely, the line can just as equally convey nihilist sentiments on the meaninglessness of man's actions.
Some have questioned the song's implied necessity to row one's boat downstream. This may in fact be a commentary on the paradoxical nature of time's arrow with respect to man's free will in a universe of materialistic causality.
Additional or alternate verses
Sometimes people sing additional verses, which should probably be considered a form of Children's street culture, sometimes with the intent simply of extending the song, or sometimes (especially in the case of more irreverent versions) with the intent of making it funny, parodying it, or substituting another sensibility for the perceived innocent one of the original. Versions include:
- Row, row, row your boat,
- Gently down the stream.
- Throw your teacher overboard
- And listen to her scream.
In popular culture
The song has been used extensively in popular culture, often to reflect existential questions about reality. It was sung by Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock at the beginning and end of the film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), reflecting issues about the need for self discovery. In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the song is used on the soundtrack and by Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) as they try to hide from the memory erasers, reflecting issues of the importance of memory to reality.
Notes
- ^ Studwell, S. M. (1997). The Americana Song Reader. New York: Haworth Press. p. 82. ISBN 0789001500.
- Barrett, Tom (December 2, 2005). "Life is But a Dream". Interlude Meditation Archive. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- Knapp, Caroline (November 22, 1998). "Row, Row, Row". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- Taylor, Steven Lane (January 5, 2008). "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- Steen, Tracy (June 10, 2006). "A Note from the Editor". All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- Schumann, Paul (January 4, 2006). "Row Your Boat". The Innovation Road Map Travelogue. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- Sosa, Ernest (2006). "Experimental philosophy and philosophical intuition". Philosophical Studies. 132 (1): 99–107. doi:10.1007/s11098-006-9050-3.
- Johnson, B.; Cloonan, M. (2009). Dark Side of the Tune: Popular Music and Violence. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 98. ISBN 1409400492.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|lastauthoramp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - Lightfoot, C. (1997). The Culture of Adolescent Risk-Taking Culture and Human Development. New York: Guilford Press. p. 78. ISBN 1572302321.
- Iaccino, J. F. (1998). Jungian Reflections within the Cinema: a Psychological Analysis of Sci-fi and Fantasy Archetypes. London: Greenwood. p. 28. ISBN 0275950484.
- Walters, James (2008). Alternative Worlds in Hollywood Cinema: Resonance Between Realms. Intellect Books. p. 94. ISBN 1841502022.