Another New World

These are the lyrics that are on the final cut of the album:

The leading lights of the age all wondered amongst themselves what I would do next After all that I've found in my travels around the world was there anything left?

"Gentlemen," I said "I've studied the maps and if what I am thinking is right There's another new world at the top of the world for whoever can break through the ice"

I looked round the room in the way I once had and I saw that they wanted belief So I said "all I got are my guts and my God and I paused, and the Annabel Lee"

Oh the Annabel Lee, I saw their eyes shine, the most beautiful ship in the sea, My Nina, my Pinta, my Santa Maria, my beautiful Annabel Lee

That spring I set sail as a crowd waved from shore and on board the crew waved their hands But I never had family just the Annabel Lee so I didn't have cause to look back

I just set the course north, and I studied the charts and towards dark I drifted towards sleep and I dreamed of the fine deep harbor I'd find past the ice for my Annabel Lee

After that it got colder the world got quiet it was never quite day or quite night and the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice

Till at last around us was vastness, one vast glassy desert of arsenic white and the waves that once lifted us sifted instead into drifts against Annabel's sides

And the crew gathered closer at first for comfort But each morning would bring a new set of tracks in the snow leading over the edge of the world till I was the only one left

After that it gets cloudy, but it feels like I laid there for days and maybe for months But Annabel held me the two of us happy just to think back on all we had done

We talked of the other new worlds we discovered till she gave up her body to me And as I chopped up her main sail for timber I told her of all that we still had to see

Then the frost turned her moorings to nine tails and the wind lashed her sides in the cold I burned her to keep me alive every night in the loving embrace of her hold

And I won't call it rescue what brought me back to the old world to drink and decline And pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine

Sometimes at night in my dreams comes the singing of some unknown tropical bird and I smile in my sleep thinking Annabel Lee had made it to Another New World

Yeah sometimes at night in my dreams comes the singing of some unknown tropical  bird And I smile in my sleep thinking Annabel Lee has made it to Another New World

Amazing song. Saw him perform it live and was intrigued; after finding a recording, I'm awestruck. I love when Josh writes maritime songs - it's fascinating, what with him being from Idaho and all.

There's a clear association between this song and Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", which is about a narrator's love for a girl named Annabel Lee. Their love is so strong that the angels grow envious, and send a wind, 'chilling and killing my Annabel Lee'. Full text here: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Annabel_Lee

Not only do the name and the themes correspond, the meter and the style of repetition that Josh uses evoke Poe's poetic style. The waltz count that underlies Josh's fingerpicking (ONE two three, sounds more like one-and-a-two-and-a-three-and-a in this song) is reminiscent of the trochaic rhythm (Stressed-unstressed-unstressed) in Poe's poem, and indeed in the name 'Annabel'.

Ridiculously brilliant song–you could publish the lyrics as a poem and they'd be brilliant on their own, and the music adds immeasurably.

The part that always stands out to me is the line "And pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine." We have this old explorer who's clearly been all over the world, and he wants to discover something new, this other new world, but he doesn't realize that doing so will cost him the only thing he loves. And that's something I think a lot of people can relate to: we charge forward, seeking something new and exciting, only to realize after it's too late that this new pursuit requires us to sacrifice things and people we love. And is it worth it? The narrator doesn't think so.

It reminds me a bit of Tennyson's Ulysses: the aged adventurer grows restless and wants to set out again on a new voyage, to "sail beyond the sunset . . . until I die" (which has always bothered me–that he can leave behind his wife and his son so easily). The difference is that the poem ends before the journey begins, and now, listening to Another New World, I wonder if Ulysses, like the unnamed explorer in the song, will ever feel that the search for another new world was not worth the burning of his.

matthewconte is correct about the lyrics, except that the final line of the last two verses should be:

"Annabel Lee's finally made it to Another New World"

To me, this song is a masterpiece. It is perfectly constructed in respect its musical quality, its lyrical rhythm, and story that ties it all together. The music sounds like the way it feels to lose something of great importance, which matches the theme of the story. The music also evokes the steely power of nature over man's inherent curiosity and delusions of interminability. The explorer is mistaken to think that he and Annabel Lee are impervious to the forces of nature, and he pays dearly for it. The music matches that feeling perfectly toward the end, and evokes the memory of how it feels to find yourself in a situation wherein you are forced to sacrifice a part of yourself to save what will be left of your life. In summary, I think this piece is gorgeous, and I am so thankful to the artist for working so hard to perfect it. Truly an inspiring work.

With a tip from my sister (thanks), I think there is an added wrinkle to this masterful song. The connection with Poe's poem Annabel Lee is very apparent, but the story of the sailor's ambition to reach another new world by going north is very reminiscent of the Greely Expedition led by Adolphus Greely in the late 19th century. The desperate fate met by that crew is almost identical to Josh's tale, but the way he tied in the love story between captain and ship as Poe did in the original poem makes it even more intriguing to me. I would have likely missed this song altogether if not for the Punch Brothers performing it live , but I give full credit and then some to Josh for the creative genius that he showed here. Wow, this is truly a fantastic song- I would be glad if it became a standard. It gives me hope to know that things like this are still being crafted in America.

When i saw Josh live at the Town Hall in NYC a few months ago, he performed this (along with most of the new album actually) and before the song started, Josh invited the actor Michael Shannon out. Michael read Edgar Allen Poe's "Annabel Lee" so i think it's safe to say Josh was very inspired by the poem to write this wonderful song.

If you're wondering who Michael Shannon is, just go see "Revolutionary Road." He was nominated for an oscar for his performance and it's wonderful, as was his reading of Annabel Lee.

How has no one commented its relation to Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Both are tragedies of mariners who barely survived their adventure across the oceans in a (assumed) similar time period. Its been a while since I read the poem, so I can't remember too many specific connections, but it definitely makes me want to look into it. Anyone else see that connection?

In my opinion, the song has a much deeper meaning than just an explorer travelling around the world. Almost all songs are about love, drinking, break-ups, etc. and this song is no different. This song is about a man who has found the girl of his dreams. The adventure they go on is, of course, getting married. Then, he ends up tearing up the marriage, yet he knows it. "After that it got colder, and the world got quiet. It was never quite day or quite night. And the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice." They started fighting, or something similar to that. Or even both of their success tore them apart, it doesn't matter, that's your interpretation. Then, when he end's up getting "rescued" meaning, that they split up, and the girl ended up living on with her life and "making it to another new world." So that means that she ended up living on her dreams, etc. I learned this in my music class, just an amazing song, with more meaning behind what people make it look like.

Best thing I heard in a while... Devastating too.... The poem is great as a standalone but with the music it just reach perfection for me. As with any other great work of art, every heart will find its own meaning... that's probably the measure of how 'good' an artwork is: should be as infinite as the angles from which you can look through a well polished gem!

Regarding references, just wanted to add a bit: The text is obviously influenced by Poe, the reference to Annabel Lee is more than explicit but I'd like to recall a second one: Arthur Gordon Pym. Mix the two together and you have all the good old Poe in this recipe. Nonetheless: hats off to Ritter and his mastership! ...Really moving song......