Released: 2024
“Deep in the Water” by Don Toliver is a song of commitment, maturity, and emotional depth, revealing an artist ready to navigate long-term relationships and potentially turbulent waters of love. The track brims with candid emotional integrity, while metaphorically exploring the theme of a deep-seated relationship, in a context of sensual allure and tension.
The opening verse, “You get to move five ways / You tend to let it wait / You might just lose your head / You don’t do what I say”, indicates a struggle for control in the relationship. Toliver highlights the tension in a love relationship where one party wants to assert dominance, almost like navigating rough waters.
When Toliver repeats “Deep in the water, far as I can see / Deep in the water, it’s just you and me”, he uses water as a metaphor for the depth of their relationship – they’re deep into it, perhaps unsure of the direction but committed all the same. The line “Deep in the water, through your pregnancy” hints that their bond has resulted in a child, marking a significant commitment and possibly the reason for staying ‘deep in the water’.
The chorus, “Sex and love, sex and love”, signifies the relationship’s dynamic foundation – a bond forged of both physical attraction and deeper emotional connection. “Yes, I knew you were the rush / I’m fucking OD, yes, at the SLS (You need everything, yeah)” implies their love is almost intoxicating – an overdose – satisfying but potentially hazardous. The ‘SLS’ is a reference to a luxury hotel, indicating a lifestyle of class and extravagance.
With the lines “You said you wanna take control of me but I got all the answers / You want me done with the strip club / You know I’m done with them dancers”, Toliver lays bare his commitment, stepping away from casual relationships, and focusing on the one he’s deep in with. Making love under the moonlight and taking their chances signifies their risk-taking and spontaneity, hallmarks of the passion that exists between them.
“Guess we movin’ too fast / Whatever you do right now, you know I can’t go back” suggests a rapid progression in the relationship, the past being firmly in the past – a sign of maturity and willingness to move forward. When he says “You try to leave me, damn near caught a heart attack”, he underscores just how deeply he feels about his partner and how consequential their departure would be.
Throughout “Deep in the Water”, Don Toliver paints a vivid and complex picture of love’s depths and the challenges of negotiation in the face of deep emotion. From control struggles to emotional vulnerability, the song encapsulates the trials of love in the rough waters of relationships, undergirded by an insatiable physical and emotional bond.
