Not Waving but Drowning Not Waving but Drowning "Not Waving but Drowning" is a poem by the British poet Stevie Smith. It was published in 1957 as part of a collection of the same title. The most famous of Smith's poems, it gives an account of a drowned man whose distressed thrashing in the water had been mistaken for waving. The poem was accompanied by one of Smith's drawings, as was common in her work. The poem's personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism because Smith was treated for psychological problems. She contemplated suicide at the age of eight
Not Waving but Drowning Be Crying." Kirsty Maccoll also has the lyric "And are you just waving or drowning?" in her song Innocence. The electronic music group Orbital recorded a song entitled "Waving Not Drowning" for their 2001 album, The Altogether. Erin McKean wrote a short story entitled "Not Waving But Drowning" which was published in "Machine of Death", a collection of short stories. In it she talks of the poem and the author. P.O.S wrote the song "That One" with the hook “I’m not waving I’m drowning.” Belgian filmmaker Elias Grootaers made a film in 2009 entitled "Not Waving, But Drowning" recording the