Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST

Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD

Festival Guides-YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL COMPANION

Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST

Mixtape-DORK'S BEST NEW TRACKS

Play-DORK'S NEW MUSIC FRIDAY EDIT

Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD

Playlist Covers

Playlist Directory

Before Doors-LIVE SESSIONS

Music Video Directory

Down With Boring-THE DORK PODCAST

Chart Attack-UK NUMBER ONES, DISSECTED

Dork Radio

Live

Live 24/7

Dork Radio

Down With Boring

Join thousands of music lovers getting the best new tracks, exclusive interviews, and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

In print now

June 2026

Latest issue variants

Dork, June 2026 (Bleachers cover)

Bleachers

Dork, June 2026 (Myles Smith cover)

Myles Smith

Dork, June 2026 (Towa Bird cover)

Towa Bird

|

Privacy Policy|

Cookie settings

© 2026 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brian Eno – Backwater (1977) | Track profile | Dork

Tracks
Brian Eno
Before and After Science
Backwater

TRACK

Backwater

Release date: 1st December 1977

From Before and After Science

More on Brian Eno

About This Track

"Backwater" is a track by Brian Eno, from the album Before and After Science, released 1st December 1977. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about Brian Eno.

About the Artist

Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Lyrics

Backwater

[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]

Backwater!

We're sailing at the edges of time

Backwater!

We're drifting at the waterline

Oh, we're floating in the coastal waters

You and me and the porter's daughters

Ooh, what to do? Not a sausage to do

And the shorter of the porter's daughters

Dips her hands in the deadly waters

Ooh, what to do in a tiny canoe?

[Verse 2]

Black water!

There were six of us, but now we are five

We're all talking

To keep the conversation alive

There was a Senator from Ecuador

Who talked about a meteor

That crashed on a hill, in the south of Peru

And was found by a conquistador

Who took it to the Emperor

And he passed it on to a Turkish guru

[Verse 3]

His daughter

Was slated for becoming divine

He taught her

He taught her how to split and define

But if you study the logistics

And heuristics of the mystics, you will

Find that their minds rarely move in a line

So, it's much more realistic

To abandon such ballistics and

Resign to be trapped on a leaf in the vine

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 1 Reprise]

Backwater!

We're sailing at the edges of time

Backwater!

We're drifting at the waterline

Oh, we're floating in the coastal waters

You and me and the porter's daughters

Ooh, what to do? Not a sausage to do

And the shorter of the porter's daughters

Dips her hands in the deadly waters

Ooh, what to do in a tiny canoe?

[Instrumental Outro]

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Before and After Science

1977

Listen

Album

Before and After Science

Release year

1977

—Spider and I
—Backwater
—Energy Fools the Magician
—Kurt's Rejoinder
—Through Hollow Lands (For Harold Budd)
—King's Lead Hat
—Here He Comes
—Julie With...
—No One Receiving

More from Brian Eno

Albums & EPs

Sushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (FOREVER VOICELESS EDITION)

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (FOREVER VOICELESS EDITION)

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE

Dokument #2

Rams - Original Soundtrack Album

Explore

More tracks by Brian Eno

Shudder Like Crows

The Last to Know

The Last to Know / Ringing Ocean

Never Was It Now

A Ceiling and a Lifeboat

Hopelessly At Ease

Suddenly / Big Empty Country (edit)

Lonely Semi-Jazz

Friendly Reactor Near Menacing Forest

Bloom: Living World

Big Empty Country (Night)

Big Empty Country (Day)

By This River (Live at the Acropolis)

Emerald and Lime

Hardly Me (Instrumental)

Get Real (Sounds Right mix)

Lighthouse #429

RotiSushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

WeinSushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

SushiSushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

WasserSushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

ReibekuchenSushi. Roti. Reibekuchen

Atmospheric Lightness

The Ship - Excerpt 1

The Ship - Excerpt 2

Brave Are the Waves

Line in the Sand

View all tracks by Brian Eno →

A Ceiling and a Lifeboat
All I Remember
And Live Again
Atmospheric Lightness
Before Life
Big Empty Country (Day)
Big Empty Country (Night)
Bloom: Living World
Brave Are the Waves
Breath March

Showing 10 of 50

If you like Brian Eno

Harold Budd/Brian Eno

Fripp & Eno

Cluster & Brian Eno

Brian Eno & David Byrne

Brian Eno & David Byrne

Roger Eno

Robert Fripp

Cluster

Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid

Hiroshi Yoshimura

Hiroshi Yoshimura

Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

READ MORE ABOUT BRIAN ENO

Kneecap, Paul Weller, IDLES, BCNR, Dry Cleaning and more have signed open letter calling for Israel to be banned from Eurovision

Kneecap, Paul Weller, IDLES, BCNR, Dry Cleaning and more have signed open letter calling for Israel to be banned from Eurovision

More than 1,100 artists and cultural workers have signed.

21 Apr 2026 • 11:15 am

Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer: Brian Eno
Producer: Brian Eno, Rhett Davies
Drums: Jaki Liebezeit
Guitar: Brian Eno
Vocals: Brian Eno
Bass Guitar: Paul Rudolph
Brass: Brian Eno
Piano: Brian Eno
Synthesizer: Brian Eno