Row Row Row Your Boat

It only struck me once I was a parent just how profound the lyrics are in the first verse of this classic song:

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream

Merrily merrily merrily merrily

Life is but a dream

If the boat itself is a metaphor for your body; your entire essence of being, then that leaves the stream to be a metaphor for life. The fact that this is a 'row' boat rather than a motor boat implies that you need to work your way through life and that nothing is simply going to be done for you. The repetition of, 'row' also appears to represent the idea that you need to keep on 'rowing' to move this life forwards: it is a constant and unending task. By this I mean that there are no lines or verses that suggest you should, 'Stop rowing for a while and chill out'. However, the fact that is says to do this rowing, 'gently,' suggests that if you have nothing in mind but the end goal, you'll end up missing what is right in front of you in the present; in the very moment you are in. So keep up the rowing, but do it gently so that you enjoy the scenery around you. Moreover, this rowing should be done, 'Merrily'. The composer stresses this fact four times. Even when times get tough, you should always endeavour to keep a smile on your face and do what you do with happiness and merriment.

It is the last line that is the most poignant, however. 'Life is but a dream,' has echoes of Descartes, cogito ergo sum - 'I think therefore I am'. Life is as fleeting, illogical and difficult to grasp as a night time dream. This throws the whole of the previous three lines into chaos. It suggests that in spite of these things: having to try hard and keep merry, the inescapable fact is that life is a brief spark sandwiched between nothing but oblivion before and after.

This leaves two wildly different interpretations about life, then. Either it is pointless in the end so try hard to make the most of the short time that you have; or it is pointless in the end, so don't even bother. Either way, it is pointless in the end.

You tell me what you think, Noah.