Song Lyrics

Oh father come to the window
Look over yonder lake
At the wondrous golden city
Beyond the icy wake
In my short life we've passed this way
Ten times or more
And never did this city
Rise up on that far shore

That's the Sun son, shining on the water
It's not Cairo, New York or Rome
And just a matter of hours before you see your mama
Waiting for you back at home

Big buildings at it's centre
Stand ablaze with light
While lesser spires around these
Entrap the beams in flight
Oh look now I see people
With faces small and fine
And in their midst just staring
A boy's face like mine

That's the Sun son, shining on the water
It's not Cairo, New York or Rome
And just a matter of hours before you see your mama
Waiting for you back at home

The Sun was shrinking 'cause night was falling
And the boy went off to sleep
His wondrous city vanished
Into the icy deep
The Moon was rising 'cause night had fallen
And all was as before
As we made our way past the countless pines
On the cold lake's northern shore

That's the Sun son, shining on the water
It's not Cairo, New York or Rome
And just a matter of hours
Before you see your mama
Waiting for you back at home

Anna Mcgarrigle

The duration of Sun, Son (Shining on the Water) is 4:03 minutes and seconds.