The setting for the song is entirely on the lantern-room balcony of the lighthouse in which Nora and her father, Lampie, live. Nora sings the song to her fiancé Paul, who has been lost at sea for over a year but Nora believes will one day return.
Leading into the song, one night Lampie scolds Nora, telling her to accept that Paul is no doubt dead and will never return, only to apologize for his outburst and excuse himself. Dismayed, Nora retires to the lighthouse balcony and sings toward the ocean, assuring Paul that she is still waiting for him out there.
"Candle on the Water" was originally intended to be the only song featured in the film, but when it met with such acclaim, the decision was made to turn the film into a musical. According to Helen Reddy, she was told by Kasha and Hirschhorn that "they deliberately placed religious and spiritual symbols within the song."[citation needed]
In 1979, the song was covered by Swedish singer Kikki Danielsson, translated in Swedish as "Jag är ditt ljus på mörka vatten" by Swedish translator Doreen Denning (sv), for Danielsson's album Rock'n Yodel.[4]
A cover was released on December 14, 2014, by musical group ミラクルミュージカル (Miracle Musical). The track was dedicated to the memory of Diem Brown and Trevelyn Grace Campbell. [5]
