This version is used when referring to actual swimming or keeping one's head out of a liquid:
(Yudabbiru umourahu bisu'ouba) — Managing one's affairs with difficulty.
(Al-baqa' 'ala qayd al-hayah) — Staying alive or surviving.
If you are looking for the lyrics to the song "Head Above Water," the title and chorus are often translated in a spiritual or desperate tone, reflecting her battle with illness:
As an idiom, it means to barely survive or manage difficult situations, especially financial ones:
(La tada'ni aghraq) — Don't let me drown. Key Vocabulary: Head: رأس (Ra's) Water: ماء (Ma') Above: فوق (Fawqa) Drown: يغرق (Yaghraq) KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER - Cambridge English Dictionary