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When My Ship Comes In Lyrics
There's a dim light off the pier
And I've been watching it for years
Through the crashing waves there's a distant bell
It won't stop ringing in my head
All I do is stare and wait
For her to come and take me far away
When my ship comes in I'll be happenin'
After all these years, I'll be happy
When my ship comes in, you'll finally love me
Then I can leave you when my ship comes in
There's a bitter old man on the shore
With an albatross tied 'round his throat
And he tells me to forget that boat
He rambles on and I just get bored
I hear the laughter of the crew
They know the ropes, they'll see me through
To truth and brighter days
When my ship comes in, I won't be lonely
I'll have lots of friends and they'll all want me
When my ship comes in, you'll be sorry
And I'll be something when my ship comes in
I'll be standing at the rail
Waving you goodbye
You'll be standing on the beach
You'll be wondering why
All I do is stare and wait
For her to come and take me far away
When my ship comes in, I might take you
You could swab the deck if you're nice today
When my ship comes in, then we'll be something
Won't that be something when my ship comes in
When my ship comes in, I'll be happenin'
After all these years, I'll be happy
When my ship comes in, you'll finally love me
Then I can have you when my ship comes in
When my ship comes in
And I've been watching it for years
Through the crashing waves there's a distant bell
It won't stop ringing in my head
All I do is stare and wait
For her to come and take me far away
After all these years, I'll be happy
When my ship comes in, you'll finally love me
Then I can leave you when my ship comes in
With an albatross tied 'round his throat
And he tells me to forget that boat
He rambles on and I just get bored
I hear the laughter of the crew
They know the ropes, they'll see me through
To truth and brighter days
I'll have lots of friends and they'll all want me
When my ship comes in, you'll be sorry
And I'll be something when my ship comes in
Waving you goodbye
You'll be standing on the beach
You'll be wondering why
For her to come and take me far away
You could swab the deck if you're nice today
When my ship comes in, then we'll be something
Won't that be something when my ship comes in
After all these years, I'll be happy
When my ship comes in, you'll finally love me
Then I can have you when my ship comes in
When my ship comes in
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Aside from being a kick-ass song in general (Bonus coolness: listen really, really carefully and you can hear Jill's 11-year-old nephews shouting "When my sh*t comes in" in the outro choruses), the meaning's quite clear and obvious: "Yeah, life sucks, but it'll get better eventually. Promise."
Poor Jay Gatsby didn\'t wait for his ship to come in; he swam out to it to make his fortune. So why did he change his strategy when it came to rekindling his relationship with Daisy Buchanan? Instead he played the waiting game, praying to the dim light at the end of the pier, hearing the distant ringing of the bell from across the bay, waiting for her to come and take him away, so that they could row against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.\n\nSeriously though, I think Jill is winking at us about the mentality of waiting forever for your opportunity to come to you. She\'s playing the flawed character who won\'t act for her life to change but waits for it to happen to her, dreaming about whether or not she wants revenge on the person who broke her heart or to take them with her on her imagined future success. Definitely something most of us can relate to, and it sounds like a rollicking party to boot. (I\'d love to hear this over ending credits to a movie.)