The pale moon rose in it's glory
Out on the Western town
She told a sad, sad story
Of the great ship that went down
T'was the fourteenth day of April
Over the waves she rode
Sailing into tomorrow
To a golden age foretold
The night was black with starlight
The seas were sharp and clear
Moving through the shadows
The promised hour was near
Lights were holding steady
Gliding over the foam
All the lords and ladies
Heading for their eternal home
The chandeliers were swaying
From the balustrades above
The orchestra was playing
Songs of faded love
The watchman, he lay dreaming
As the ballroom dancers twirled
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the underworld
Leo took his sketchbook
He was often so inclined
He closed his eyes and painted
The scenery in his mind
Cupid struck his bosom
And broke it with a snap
The closest woman to him
He fell into her lap
He heard a loud commotion
Something sounded wrong
His inner spirit was saying
That he couldn't stand here long
He staggered to the quarterdeck
No time now to sleep
Water on the quarterdeck
Already three foot deep
Smokestack was leaning sideways
Heavy feet began to pound
He walked into the whirlwind
Sky splitting all around
The ship was going under
The universe had opened wide
The roll was called up yonder
The angels turned aside
Lights down in the hallway
Flickering dim and dull
Dead bodies already floating
In the double bottom hull
The engines then exploded
Propellers they failed to start
The boilers overloaded
The ship's bow split apart
Passengers were flying
Backward, forward, far and fast
They mumbled, fumbled, and tumbled
Each one more weary than the last
The veil was torn asunder
'Tween the hours of twelve and one
No change, no sudden wonder
Could undo what had been done
The watchman lay there dreaming
At fourtyfive degrees
He dreamed that the Titanic was sinking
Dropping to her knees
Wellington he was sleeping
His bed began to slide
His valiant heart was beating
He pushed the tables aside
Glass of shattered crystal
Lay scattered roundabout
He strapped on both his pistols
How long could he hold out?
His men and his companions
Were nowhere to be seen
In silence there he waited for
Time and space to intervene
The passageway was narrow
There was blackness in the air
He saw every kind of sorrow
Heard voices everywhere
Alarm-bells were ringing
To hold back the swelling tide
Friends and lovers clinging
To each other side by side
Mothers and their daughters
Descending down the stairs
Jumped into the icy waters
Love and pity sent their prayers
The rich man, Mister Astor
Kissed his darling wife
He had no way of knowing
It'd be the last trip of his life
Calvin, Blake and Wilson
Gambled in the dark
Not one of them would ever live to
Tell the tale on the disembark
Brother rose up 'gainst brother
In every circumstance
They fought and slaughtered each other
In a deadly dance
They lowered down the lifeboats
From the sinking wreck
There were traitors, there were turncoats
Broken backs and broken necks
The bishop left his cabin
To help others in need
Turned his eyes up to the heavens
Said, "The poor are yours to feed"
Davey the brothel-keeper
Came out dismissed his girls
Saw the water getting deeper
Saw the changing of his world
Jim Dandy smiled
He never learned to swim
Saw the little crippled child
And he gave his seat to him
He saw the starlight shining
Streaming from the East
Death was on the rampage
But his heart was now at peace
They battened down the hatches
But the hatches wouldn't hold
They drowned upon the staircase
Of brass and polished gold
Leo said to Cleo
I think I'm going mad
But he'd lost his mind already
Whatever mind he had
He tried to block the doorway
To save all those from harm
Blood from an open wound
Pouring down his arm
Petals fell from flowers
?Til all of them were gone
In the long and dreadful hours
The wizard's curse played on
The host was pouring brandy
He was going down slow
He stayed right to the end and he
Was the last to go
There were many, many others
Nameless here forever more
They never sailed the ocean
Or left their homes before
The watchman, he lay dreaming
The damage had been done
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
And he tried to tell someone
The captain, barely breathing
Kneeling at the wheel
Above him and beneath him
Fifty thousand tons of steel
He looked over at his compass
And he gazed into its face
Needle pointing downward
He knew he lost the race
In the dark illumination
He remembered bygone years
He read the Book of Revelation
And he filled his cup with tears
When the Reaper's task had ended
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest
The good, the bad, the rich, the poor
The loveliest and the best
They waited at the landing
And they tried to understand
But there is no understanding
On the judgement of God's hand
The news came over the wires
And struck with deadly force
Love had lost its fires
All things had run their course
The watchman he lay dreaming
Of all the things that can be
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the deep blue sea
Out on the Western town
She told a sad, sad story
Of the great ship that went down
Over the waves she rode
Sailing into tomorrow
To a golden age foretold
The seas were sharp and clear
Moving through the shadows
The promised hour was near
Gliding over the foam
All the lords and ladies
Heading for their eternal home
From the balustrades above
The orchestra was playing
Songs of faded love
As the ballroom dancers twirled
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the underworld
He was often so inclined
He closed his eyes and painted
The scenery in his mind
And broke it with a snap
The closest woman to him
He fell into her lap
Something sounded wrong
His inner spirit was saying
That he couldn't stand here long
No time now to sleep
Water on the quarterdeck
Already three foot deep
Heavy feet began to pound
He walked into the whirlwind
Sky splitting all around
The universe had opened wide
The roll was called up yonder
The angels turned aside
Flickering dim and dull
Dead bodies already floating
In the double bottom hull
Propellers they failed to start
The boilers overloaded
The ship's bow split apart
Backward, forward, far and fast
They mumbled, fumbled, and tumbled
Each one more weary than the last
'Tween the hours of twelve and one
No change, no sudden wonder
Could undo what had been done
At fourtyfive degrees
He dreamed that the Titanic was sinking
Dropping to her knees
His bed began to slide
His valiant heart was beating
He pushed the tables aside
Lay scattered roundabout
He strapped on both his pistols
How long could he hold out?
Were nowhere to be seen
In silence there he waited for
Time and space to intervene
There was blackness in the air
He saw every kind of sorrow
Heard voices everywhere
To hold back the swelling tide
Friends and lovers clinging
To each other side by side
Descending down the stairs
Jumped into the icy waters
Love and pity sent their prayers
Kissed his darling wife
He had no way of knowing
It'd be the last trip of his life
Gambled in the dark
Not one of them would ever live to
Tell the tale on the disembark
In every circumstance
They fought and slaughtered each other
In a deadly dance
From the sinking wreck
There were traitors, there were turncoats
Broken backs and broken necks
To help others in need
Turned his eyes up to the heavens
Said, "The poor are yours to feed"
Came out dismissed his girls
Saw the water getting deeper
Saw the changing of his world
He never learned to swim
Saw the little crippled child
And he gave his seat to him
Streaming from the East
Death was on the rampage
But his heart was now at peace
But the hatches wouldn't hold
They drowned upon the staircase
Of brass and polished gold
I think I'm going mad
But he'd lost his mind already
Whatever mind he had
To save all those from harm
Blood from an open wound
Pouring down his arm
?Til all of them were gone
In the long and dreadful hours
The wizard's curse played on
He was going down slow
He stayed right to the end and he
Was the last to go
Nameless here forever more
They never sailed the ocean
Or left their homes before
The damage had been done
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
And he tried to tell someone
Kneeling at the wheel
Above him and beneath him
Fifty thousand tons of steel
And he gazed into its face
Needle pointing downward
He knew he lost the race
He remembered bygone years
He read the Book of Revelation
And he filled his cup with tears
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest
The good, the bad, the rich, the poor
The loveliest and the best
And they tried to understand
But there is no understanding
On the judgement of God's hand
And struck with deadly force
Love had lost its fires
All things had run their course
Of all the things that can be
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the deep blue sea
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Also, this song has obvious allusion to Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" in many different ways.
Aside from obvious allusions to Shakespeare's The Tempest, the story of the titanic has always had larger implications. The unsinkable ship, in all its 'vain-gloriousness' sank to the bottom of the sea taking with it Americas aristocracy. It is not an actual account, but more in tune to a legend, even slightly allegorical.
The promised hour was near: This is a reference to the thomas hardy poem, Convergence of the Twain. In the poem, the iceberg was created by "the Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything" to counter human pride. The two were fated to converge on the promised hour.
The watchman is sleeping because no one ever doubt's progress. This is the nature of humanity.
There is no escaping the obvious apocalyptic judgment by water that occurs in many religions, particularly Catholicism. Dylan is prone to use apocalyptic themes. The best humanity has to offer is no match for the will of the 'Deep Blue Sea'
This is not a complete interpretation, just some obvious symbolism. Let the song mean what ever you want it to mean, for all I care lol
Two observations indicate that this song is not merely a retold of the Titanic story and point towards a different interpretation:
(1) The Titanic did not sink because of a storm but because of colliding with an iceberg. (2) A sleeping watchman is mentioned four times.
Therefore I believe that the song should make us aware of an approaching desaster which is not announced adequately by those in charge. Several ongoing processes may lead to such a desaster, many of them driven by the call for further growth, which means driving full speed into a dead end street. My present favourite is the climate change, which goes with an increasing frequency and intensity of meteorological events like storms (in agreement with the album title), high and low temperature, high and low precipitation.
From the scientific view the situation with the climate change is comparable to a ship with a leak. The ship will sink sooner or later if the leak is neither closed nor the water is pumped out at a rate at least as high as the one it comes in with. Analogously carbon dioxide is added one-way to the system we live in at a rate of approximately 30 billion tonnes a year or 3.5 ppm atmospheric concentration. The 400 ppm threshold has been passed already, and 450 ppm will be reached in the mid of the next decade - not even half a generation from now.
A quantitatve compensation of this carbon dioxide release is not even considered at any relevant level. Those in political responsibility primarily care for their lobbies and budgets, those in the NGOs care for their campaigns while solutions to problems have significantly lower priorities. This is my personal experience from an information campaign last year.
So watch out you dreaming watchmen!
1) the word Tempest could also have meant; a violent commotion, disturbance, or tumultuous event 2) The sleeping watchman was mentioned four times because it was somewhat of the songs chorus, and its an important fact that from the "Beginning" before impact until the "End" when the ship went under he was sleeping. Probably drugged or knocked out. Climate change? The song has absolutely nothing to do with climate change and neither does the album. Your interpretation was well written and I'm sure climate change is a real issue. But to draw the conclusions you have from the song or album, would...
>1) the word Tempest could also have meant; a violent commotion, disturbance, or tumultuous event
2) The sleeping watchman was mentioned four times because it was somewhat of the songs chorus, and its an important fact that from the "Beginning" before impact until the "End" when the ship went under he was sleeping. Probably drugged or knocked out.
Climate change? The song has absolutely nothing to do with climate change and neither does the album. Your interpretation was well written and I'm sure climate change is a real issue. But to draw the conclusions you have from the song or album, would force me to believe that you are either misusing your perception medication or you get really good weed:)
Hi CampYahweh,
Hi CampYahweh,
sorry I did not note your reply sooner.
sorry I did not note your reply sooner.
1) My interpretation is not wrong just because a different explanation is possible. 2) I do not have as much experience with drugs as you seem to have. A chorus usually stresses a key idea of a song. Whatever kept the watchman asleep – he heavily failed to do his duty. You should take a look at reply # 2 to comment # 1 on song # 1 of the album = Duquesne whistle which also addresses a tempest in a meteorological sense. You should also note that Bob Dylan again and...
>1) My interpretation is not wrong just because a different explanation is possible.
2) I do not have as much experience with drugs as you seem to have. A chorus usually stresses a key idea of a song. Whatever kept the watchman asleep – he heavily failed to do his duty.
You should take a look at reply # 2 to comment # 1 on song # 1 of the album = Duquesne whistle which also addresses a tempest in a meteorological sense. You should also note that Bob Dylan again and again watches out for disasters approaching slowly and insufficiently recognized: A hard rain’s a-gonna fall; The times they are a-changin’; When the ship comes in; Foot of pride; All along the watchtower; Slow train coming; When the night comes falling from the sky; certainly some more can be found. The climate change, a collapse of the world economy, and Jesus returning to a sleeping Christianity are the most urgent threats today.
Do you still prefer synthetic dreams?
@Mikesch . The "veil [of time/ space] was torn asunder" as the watchman dreamt it before it happened.
@Mikesch . The "veil [of time/ space] was torn asunder" as the watchman dreamt it before it happened.
A lot of people think that the titanic was purposely driven into an iceberg at full speed. And the captain was under orders from the black pope of the Jesuit church. Biggest ship of all time on her maiden voyage . There were rich powerful men on the ship that were apposed and would never have allowed
The creation of the Federal Reserve. The ship was sunk and shortly after the fed was created. Dylan who was an insider would know that. "The watchman laid there sleeping" because he was drugged or something. "He looked over at his compass, Looked into its face, Needle pointed downwards, he knew he had lost the race" The needle of a compass doesn't ever point down. It was metaphor for the fact that the captain realized who his orders really came from and his future spiritual destination.
"In the dark illumination, he remembered bygone years. He read the book of revelation and filled his glass with tears." He was realizing his contribution to the fulfilment of end times prophecy in The Book of Revelations. "The news came over the wires and struck with deadly force. Love had lost its fires, all things had run their course." Meaning what had happened was destined to happen or happened the way it was suppose to.