The framework for Wash Us Away is historical but Hunter relates it to his generation and makes it more personal by abstractly describing how his youth impacted him. During the transition from blues, rhythm and blues, and early rock 'n' roll the aforementioned reference to the Dead Sea Scrolls were found during this same period from 1946-1956. The wash us away line was used as a vocal tool for melody over the chords as Ian felt the song came looking for him. A succession of liaisons take place throughout life as we become adult and ultimately pass. Coming at two days before the end of the sessions the clever wordplay "the heart and the arrow, the rattle and the snake" added to the mostly live recordings. Drummer Mickey Currey suggested a change and it added a great deal to finishing the song well according to Hunter.
There are three live versions, from 2002, 2008, and 2010.
In 2005 the song was performed live and broadcast exclusively on KGSR Broadcasts vol. 13.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves
Wash Us Away
(Ian Hunter)
On the very first decade that we got to dream in
Our fathers were angry, our mother's were screamin'
At the clothes we were wearin' and the music we got off on
Hitler was dead, welcome to Babylon
Carved our initials out across the sand
The heart and the arrow, no-one understands
Then the tide rolled in and everything ran
And washed us away, washed us away, washed us away
Up in the attic ambition was burning
Now my fingers were bleedin' but the tables were turning
Down in the city the future was beckoning
And I hated myself on the day of reckoning
(Oh yeah)
Carved our initials on top of the cake
The heart and the arrow - the rattle and the snake
How was I to know that the Earth was gonna break
And wash us away, wash us away, wash us away
Everything's temporary in this world
Ain't it a shame when you lose someone
Here tomorrow, gone today
Wash us away, wash us away, wash us away
There was never a fool like a young fool alone in
A world without someone he can find a home in
And for all the wrong reasons we rescued each other
You bandaged my heart I never would recover
(ohhhh)
No river runs true, it always takes a twist
Hearts can be broken, arrows gonna miss
How was I to know that it was gonna come down to this
And wash us away
And we wrote our names on the Dead Sea Scrolls
The young and the restless, the brave and the bold
How was we to know it was gonna get outta control
And wash us away, wash us away, wash us away, wash us away, wash us away,wash us away, wash us away| Wash Us Away | 3:57 | Originally released on Rant, also on the compilation The Journey. |
| Wash Us Away (live 29/30th January 2002) | 4:27 | This live version (recorded Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway) was issued on Strings Attached. |
| Wash Us Away (live 2nd March 2008) | 4:26 | This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only). |
| Wash Us Away (live October 2010) | 4:29 | This live version (recorded at an unknown UK venue) was issued on Live In The UK 2010. |
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