| Gregory Alan Isakov – That Sea, The Gambler Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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The song is a metaphor for the navigation of love. Let's take a look. The first line is a direct parallel to a fight the he may have had with his significant other. "Curse at your captain and stow me below," gives vivid imagery to a literal interpretation. Gregory is the captain of the boat, upon which he feels condemned and shackled to the prison below. "Hold me amongst all your cards," is a metaphor for the game of love being played. (As the song continues this game is referred back to using the words "King" and "Queen." Sadly, as we all know, "king" triumphs "queen.") "oh we were sea bound and aimless at best" is the hopeful optimism inherent in the beginning stages of love: true nostalgia is being communicated. "Clutching the the wheels and those charts," characterizes the tone of the relationship he is singing about: sadness, that neither of them had direction to steer through the rough water/sea that is their love: vast, unpredictable, and truly "aimless." "But that sea is just a gambler at heart" is the reaction to his realization that his love, the sea, was a gamble just like the card game that his significant other plays. The second stanza is in reminisce. He remembers how "free" their love was at times during the calm of the ocean looking out over the "starboard" on their future together. But the no avail, they "waited for land" and "waited for the". They couldn't find their "ground" so to speak. But they "aimed to stay calm and cool" so as to work through their problems. Sadly, that sea, their love, is just a gamble and has the upper hand. "Come to me Mary come, you know you once were queen" is an allusion to the biblical Virgin Mary because these waters are uncharted and virgin as well. Queen is used to denote the card game again and to explain that their problems, the King, has the upper-hand in the relationship's love. And the "weary" are tossed aside due to the struggle inherent in relationships. A bridge is inserted with the sounds of lamenting. Next, Gregory wishes to steer ahead, through the clouds to land where they can heal. Overall, the song is about navigating love, which is truly a gamble because it's uncharted area. It's beautiful because I think he had closure, but more so because Gregory has great perception of the trials and journey that is a part of finding yourself during love's rapture. |
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