Not Waving but Drowning Not Drowning, Waving takes their name from the poem. The underground '90s emo-hardcore act I Hate Myself recorded a song with the same name on their album 10 Songs. A track on Julian Cope's 1991 album "Peggy Suicide" was titled "Not Raving but Drowning" after the poem. The poem was also set to music by singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt on his debut album Little with a spoken introduction from a Stevie Smith recording. Singer and songwriter Tanita Tikaram set the poem to music in her song titled "Not Waving but Drowning" which appeared as a b-side to her single "I Might
Not Waving but Drowning as inspiration to the Manic Street Preachers song ‘Ready For Drowning’ which uses the phrase “We’re not waving, we’re drowning” The poem was performed as part of the 1976 album "Tears of Steel & the Clowning Calaveras" released by Australian singer Jeannie Lewis (Track 4b), and recited by two actors: Lex Marinos as the "Narrator" (...but still he lay moaning), and Nick Lathouris as the "Dead Man" (I was too far out...). St. Louis post-rock band Foxing uses the line "I'm not waving, but drowning," in the song 'Inuit', off their record "The Albatross". Australian ambient and alternative music group