When you see that ship it
Is the ship you can see
When the grey ship calls
It is a callin for me
I thought it would come
I thought it would come from
Further North than that
Blue sky is silver blue sky is grey
When the grey ship calls I am leaving today
I thought it would come
When you see that ship it
Is the ship you can see
When the grey ship calls
It is a callin for me
I thought it would come
I thought it would come from
Further North than that
(I hear a choir, I hear a symphony)
My mother with soft hands
My sister with none left
My best friend from long time
My mouth full of glass
The strangers with wet hair
My old aunt a spinster
I feel all them calming
I've run out of air
I hear all them calling
The pearly gates
We've come all gone together
We've all gone to sleep
I hear a choir, I hear a symphony
Great grandmother lived on the prairie
Nothin and nothin and nothin and nothin
I got the same feelin inside of me
Is the ship you can see
When the grey ship calls
It is a callin for me
I thought it would come
I thought it would come from
Further North than that
When the grey ship calls I am leaving today
I thought it would come
Is the ship you can see
When the grey ship calls
It is a callin for me
I thought it would come
I thought it would come from
Further North than that
My sister with none left
My best friend from long time
My mouth full of glass
My old aunt a spinster
I feel all them calming
I've run out of air
The pearly gates
We've come all gone together
We've all gone to sleep
Great grandmother lived on the prairie
Nothin and nothin and nothin and nothin
I got the same feelin inside of me
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Seems to be a song about dying (such a cheerful way to open an album, though I suppose she might as well get right to the point). There is the image of this ghostly ship, filled with the spirits of her family and ancestors, coming to take her to the 'pearly gates'. The last line of the song seems to show that EMA's death in this song is not literal, she just feels dead inside, as if her soul has already been carried away. Mythical and metaphorical, the song paves the way for the more specific hurt and angst in the rest of the album.
alien vikings or some shit.
Just some observations as I can't interpret this. This song is beautiful but leaves so much open to question. Everyone mentioned is a woman. Most related to her. They are going on a ship to heaven.