This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
We sent out the SOS call
It was a quarter past 4 in the morning
When the storm broke our second anchor line
Four months at sea 4 months of calm seas to be pounded
In the shallows off the tip of montauk point
They call them rogues they travel fast and alone
One hundred foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong
What they call love is a risk
Cause you will always get hit out of nowhere by some wave and end up on your own
The hole in the hull defied the crews attempts to bail us out
And flooded the engines and radio and half buried bow
Your tongue is a rudder
It steers the whole ships sends your words past your lips
Or keeps them safe behind your teeth
But the wrong words will strand you
Come off course while you sleep
Sweep your boat out to sea or dashed to bits on the reefs
The vessel groans the ocean pressures its frame
Off the port I see the lighthouse through the sleet and the rain
And I wished for one more day to give my love and repay debts
But the morning finds our bodies washed up thirty miles west
They say that the captain stays fast with the ship through still and storm
But this ain't the Dakota and the water is cold
We won't have to fight for long this is the end
This story's old but it goes on and on until we disappear
Calm me and let me taste the salt you breathed while you were underneath
I am the one who haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the sea
I spoke the words but never gave a thought to what they all could mean
I know this is what you want
A funeral keeps both of us apart
You know that you are not alone
Need you like water in my lungs
This is the end
It was a quarter past 4 in the morning
When the storm broke our second anchor line
Four months at sea 4 months of calm seas to be pounded
In the shallows off the tip of montauk point
They call them rogues they travel fast and alone
One hundred foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong
What they call love is a risk
Cause you will always get hit out of nowhere by some wave and end up on your own
The hole in the hull defied the crews attempts to bail us out
And flooded the engines and radio and half buried bow
Your tongue is a rudder
It steers the whole ships sends your words past your lips
Or keeps them safe behind your teeth
But the wrong words will strand you
Come off course while you sleep
Sweep your boat out to sea or dashed to bits on the reefs
The vessel groans the ocean pressures its frame
Off the port I see the lighthouse through the sleet and the rain
And I wished for one more day to give my love and repay debts
But the morning finds our bodies washed up thirty miles west
They say that the captain stays fast with the ship through still and storm
But this ain't the Dakota and the water is cold
We won't have to fight for long this is the end
This story's old but it goes on and on until we disappear
Calm me and let me taste the salt you breathed while you were underneath
I am the one who haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the sea
I spoke the words but never gave a thought to what they all could mean
I know this is what you want
A funeral keeps both of us apart
You know that you are not alone
Need you like water in my lungs
This is the end
Lyrics submitted by BrandNew1208, edited by Deafcat
Play Crack the Sky Lyrics as written by Jesse Lacey
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Sierra, I had someone in my immediate family die about 2 weeks ago with a drug addiction... sounds to me like you nailed to meaning. I mean it does describe the exact feelings. Brand New is amazing.
Supurman, I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for your comment- it really is amazing how well Brand New described it.