O Waly Waly

The Water is Wide, also called O Waly Waly, is a traditional folk song of Scottish origin based on lyrics that date in part back to the 1600s. Many variations of the lyrics have appeared in England, Wales, Ireland, Canada and Australia and the melody has been used to set a hymn text in the USA although perhaps the best known version is that collected by Cecil Sharpe in 1906. Composers including Benjamin Britten and John Rutter have made arrangements of the melody and it has been recorded by countless well-known singers across the classical, folk and popular genres.

This arrangement is adapted from an earlier version by the same arranger for voices in three parts, flute, violin and piano.