Single Review: 'Something in the Water' by Carrie Underwood

by Aprille Hanson
Carrie Underwood has done religious songs throughout her career, none bigger than her first single “Jesus Take the Wheel.” However, her latest hit, “Something in the Water” is one that packs a powerful spiritual punch in the content, the melody and her fantastic vocals. The song details a religious journey that people who were not baptized in their youth go through. It starts with a preacher sharing the Gospel of Jesus, explaining that it will all get better and suddenly, she’s following him down to the river and she’s changed. The narrator doesn’t quite understand how yet, but she will. Soon, late one night, she was “all out of hope and all out of fight” and then it hits her – she surrenders to her savior, singing “Couldn’t fight back the tears so I fell on my knees / saying ‘God if you’re there come and rescue me.’” And as she soon determines, “There must be something in the water.” What pulls this song out of sappy territory is the hard-hitting, fast melody, which slows only toward the end and when she sings how she is changed in the chorus. It’s symbolic how people run from God only to find peace and rest in his love. In the hands of a lesser singer, the impact would fall flat. Carrie Underwood has never sounded better on a vocal and that’s saying something. She’s full of “Amazing Grace,” literally, as the lyrics to that famous spiritual makes an appearance in the song, overlapping her vocals “there must be something in the water.” It’s safe to say that in every sense of the word, Carrie Underwood took us to church on this single and the music industry should be singing her praises on the release for years to come.