Oh, the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
Lyrics submitted by Jack, edited by Mellow_Harsher
When the Ship Comes In Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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This song is a beautiful anthem for those working for social/political change!
Look:
Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling.
And the rocks on the sands
Will proudly stand,
The hour that the ship comes in.
This implies that the coming of the ship (the change, the reform, the new generation, etc) is a GOOD thing for all those it will effect.
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken.
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
The political attacks, lies, mudslinging, slander, etc. of the opponents of "the ship" will for once, not be effective.
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline.
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck,
The hour that the ship comes in.
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'.
Again, this suggests that the coming of "the ship" is a beautiful and triumphant thing! I really love the line "The ship's wise men will remind you once again that the whole wide world is watching." President Kennedy had proclaimed that "the eyes of the world are upon us," and Martin Luther King + other advocates of civil rights constantly strove to remind the country that THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING!
The last two stanzas are triumphant and glorious and always fill me with hope when I listen to them!
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered.
And like Pharaoh's tribe,
They'll be drownded in the tide,
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.
Social/political change/reform and/or the "passing of the torch" to a new generation is going to happen! And those who oppress their fellow men (like Pharaoh's tribe) and those who have the establishment/the money/all odds on their side (like Goliath) will be defeated!
It a beautiful, happy, triumphant, hopeful, motivating song with GREAT imagery!
(Just one comment on the hotel room story... maybe the trouble getting a room set Dylan off or something, but we all know that Dylan was like a conductor that channeled all the electricity of the events and emotions of his times into his music; thus, whether consciously or subconsciously, I guarantee Dylan wrote this song about more than a hotel room.)
This guy's name is Bob & his website is GLOBALSUMMIT.ORG .
Anyway, he gave out $15,000 of his own money in prizes for videos sent in for a contest me made to have people imagine what it would be like to have an intelligent alternative to weaponry to solve our differences & using sustainable resources so we can pass on a beautiful world to future generations. He spent over $10,000 of his own money just to put on the contest. He is writing a book right now that will be out in July I think. Bob Mc Cormick. I am so glad that YOU GOT IT!! keep it up clever man, the masses WILL take control & do the right thing.
Taking the story about the inspiration it's about the triumph of youth and change over the old order. Dylan and co are on the ship, the hotel clerk is amongst those surrendering and washed away by the incoming tide.
One of my very favourite early Dylan songs. Particularly love the last 4 lines.
Maybe I'm just too much of a dork? I do realize that some of the lyrics in the song don't fit with my idea, namely the last two verses. But the idea of people arriving by ship to a "promised land" of sorts, especially in the 5th and 6th verses, particularly
"And the sun will respect every face on the deck" made me think of the song in this light.
Anyway...it's a beautiful and devastating song.
Sort of reminds me to the song "we shall overcome".
Obviously a song about change. Introduced by Dylan- a song about new , different Goliath's that must be stopped. The sea is often used as a place of uncertainty, where no man makes a home and where the unknown lies. When the ship comes in there will be the collision of the outcast or departed with the structures of society on land. Very well written and very good, this song shows how much better Dylan got at channeling his anger since Masters of War