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Singing the Dolphin Through Lyrics
Farewell Plymouth, your morning cold and gray
Is painting shadows on my thoughts
And we're bound for nowhere
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
(3 times)
Joseph I know you're trusting me to see you right
And I know you can't stand the fighting
And I know you can't stand the fighting
For one more night
Joseph the mud gives way to coral somewhere
And the hours of light they last and last
We'll see no hostile flag there from craft unknown
We will have grown free from sighing
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
(3 times)
Joseph I know you're trusting me to see you right
And I know you can't stand the fighting
And I know you can't stand the fighting
For one more night
Joseph the mud gives way to coral somewhere
And the hours of light they last and last
We'll see no hostile flag there from craft unknown
We will have grown free from sighing
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
Still waters
(repeat to fade)
Is painting shadows on my thoughts
And we're bound for nowhere
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
(3 times)
And I know you can't stand the fighting
And I know you can't stand the fighting
For one more night
And the hours of light they last and last
We'll see no hostile flag there from craft unknown
We will have grown free from sighing
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
(3 times)
And I know you can't stand the fighting
And I know you can't stand the fighting
For one more night
And the hours of light they last and last
We'll see no hostile flag there from craft unknown
We will have grown free from sighing
Singing the dolphin through
Singing the dolphin through
Still waters
Still waters
(repeat to fade)
Song Info
Submitted by
brainsewage On Jan 26, 2009
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I love this song but have no idea what it's about. Any ideas?
Been playing this a lot lately (great CD) and it seems like a dream of peace and safety. Kids cannot stand when their parents fight and need a protector (just occurred to me last night, though I played the album to death 30 years ago!). Total speculation, and almost certainly wrong, but if this helps a child grow free from sighing, surely that is a beautiful thing from this amazing album. The first song, Blinded by the Light gave Springsteen a huge kick towards stardom, while the Golden Helmet song conjures the senselessness of war (to me at least).
Been playing this a lot lately (great CD) and it seems like a dream of peace and safety. Kids cannot stand when their parents fight and need a protector (just occurred to me last night, though I played the album to death 30 years ago!). Total speculation, and almost certainly wrong, but if this helps a child grow free from sighing, surely that is a beautiful thing from this amazing album. The first song, Blinded by the Light gave Springsteen a huge kick towards stardom, while the Golden Helmet song conjures the senselessness of war (to me at least).
@BrainSewage
@BrainSewage
Being that "Plymouth" is mentioned in the first line, I believe the entirety of this song is in reference to the Mayflower which set sail from Plymouth, for William Bradford & his Mayflower Pilgrims to make their settlement, the Plymouth Colony, in the New Land, America in December 1620.
Being that "Plymouth" is mentioned in the first line, I believe the entirety of this song is in reference to the Mayflower which set sail from Plymouth, for William Bradford & his Mayflower Pilgrims to make their settlement, the Plymouth Colony, in the New Land, America in December 1620.
The Plymouth Colony made a pact with the Wampanoag Indian tribe, both out of desperation for survival, to trade & help each other. One of the Indians showed the settlers how to plant corn & the two groups continued to provide safe haven for the other, especially against other...
The Plymouth Colony made a pact with the Wampanoag Indian tribe, both out of desperation for survival, to trade & help each other. One of the Indians showed the settlers how to plant corn & the two groups continued to provide safe haven for the other, especially against other warrior tribes. In a single paragraph from one of the Plymouth Colony's journals, it spoke of a feast - - this became the origin of the Thanksgiving Feast, celebrated to this day in the United States.
The spotting of the dolphin & the finding of the shoreline after a treacherous journey across the Atlantic, may be poetic hyperbole, but it all fits with the hope of finding a better world - - that was the reason why the Pilgrims set sail, to establish a colony according to God's Law as they perceived in the Bible - - free from religious persecution from the King of England.
I think that's why the name "Joseph" appears. Joseph is a biblical name. Also the reference to "no hostile flag," meaning the hostile flag of England, whose laws made it illegal to be a Separatist from the Roman Catholic Church. The Pilgrims were all Separatists, seeking to establish their own government to practice their faith.
It's a beautiful song that has always captivated me from my first hearing it decades ago. I just watched a documentary on the Pilgrims on PBS & I remembered "Plymouth" was in the lyric to this song, which is what brought me here. The lyrics allude to a number of things but I think one association is the Mayflower voyage & it can be interpreted as part of the Plymouth Colony's story.
He's singing about a better world, a safe, calm and serene place.
Not the world we know.
The song is about a solitary dolphin who was seen by many sailors in the seas of a regular shipping line in the late 18th century early 19th century. Apparently, the seas along these treacherous waters were so narrow many ships hit rocks and sunk. So, the story goes, a lone dolphin was witnessed swimming ahead of the ship, actually showing the way through these waters to protect the ships from a watery grave, however, a whaling ship harpooned the dolphin, injuring the animal. The dolphin was badly injured and was not seen for many years eventually being spotted after it had fully recovered and regained it's trust in humans. It is also a fact that the dolphin (after that incident) was never seen helping any whaling vessels, only the ships that had caused it no harm.
This I researched many years ago, where, I don't know but I know it to be true.
If you listen to the lyrics "Joseph, the mud gives way to coral, somewhere and the hours of light they last and last' It was during the night when the animal would help and direct the ships through these treacherous narrow waters. "we'll see no hostile flag there" The flag on the ship would be raised to show the dolphin the ship was friendly.
And yet, we still murder these beautiful animals to this day, same with whales, sharks and other marine wildlife.
We will only come to the realisation of out past and present action when it is too late. The ocean does not belong to us.
Ok...don\'t lambast me...I\'m expressing how, intuitively...I was doing a qigong water element of winter practice ..then drew a card .and it was whale...keeping steady...but at the time as I stood U was thinking and singing ...singing the dolphin through....and being deeply in alignment with the Mary energy...I couldn\'t help but feel Joseph was keeping it all steady though much maligned and doubted as a family of what was to come with the birth of Jesus . odd but felt natural to sing this ...weirdly oddly right feeling..dolphin meaning is to keep heart open ....lovely
This is a song by Mike Heron, half the Incredible String Band. It’s off his second solo album and luckily available for all to appreciate on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Ux1GvNym4). The correct line in the first verse is “And we're bound for Norway” not 'nowhere', which helps get into the song meaning. It reinforces the wintry feeling of the song, and drives home the hope element of the line when he assures his fellow seaman Joseph that the mud will give way to coral. I am reminded of The Band song “Rockin’ Chair” penned I think by Levon Helm, not sure I think The Dolphin is the name of the craft in which they sail. The life of the seaman is extreme, addictive, a vocation with little reward. The hope of finding peace at sea is so beautifully expressed by Mike that I find this song one of my favourites ever. Backing vocals by Linda Thompson, Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention’s other half
This is a song by Mike Heron, half the Incredible String Band. It’s off his second solo album and luckily available for all to appreciate on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Ux1GvNym4). The correct line in the first verse is “And we're bound for Norway” not 'nowhere', which helps get into the song meaning. It reinforces the wintry feeling of the song, and drives home the hope element of the line when he assures his fellow seaman Joseph that the mud will give way to coral. I am reminded of The Band song “Rockin’ Chair” penned I think by Levon Helm, not sure I think The Dolphin is the name of the craft in which they sail. The life of the seaman is extreme, addictive, a vocation with little reward. The hope of finding peace at sea is so beautifully expressed by Mike that I find this song one of my favourites ever. Backing vocals by Linda Thompson, Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention’s other half
@kevin10369 This is very cool to learn! I have been listening to Manfred Mann's version for 40+ years, but don't remember ever knowing the Heron background. "Norway" indeed rhymes with "gray". How much coral is there in Norway though? I will have to research this ...
@kevin10369 This is very cool to learn! I have been listening to Manfred Mann's version for 40+ years, but don't remember ever knowing the Heron background. "Norway" indeed rhymes with "gray". How much coral is there in Norway though? I will have to research this ...
@kevin10369 Just discovered this link! Reading it it seems the discovery is to recent for Mike to have known about it but, having said that, music is magic afterall https://www.lophelia.org/case-studies/the-north-atlantic-ocean/reefs-of-norway#:~:text=Norway%20has%20the%20highest%20known,as%20Belize%2C%20Mozambique%20or%20Seychelles.
@kevin10369 Just discovered this link! Reading it it seems the discovery is to recent for Mike to have known about it but, having said that, music is magic afterall https://www.lophelia.org/case-studies/the-north-atlantic-ocean/reefs-of-norway#:~:text=Norway%20has%20the%20highest%20known,as%20Belize%2C%20Mozambique%20or%20Seychelles.
The Dolphin is a U-boat. Hear the pings at the beginning.