4 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Lost Sailor Lyrics
Compass card is spinning, helm is swinging to and fro
Oh, where is the dog star, oh, where's the moon.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Somedays the gales are howling, sometimes the sea is still as glass.
Oh, raise the main sail, oh, lash the mast.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Now the shorelines beckon, there is a price for being free.
There's a sea bird cryin' and there's a ghost wind blowing
And it's calling you, to that misty swirling sea.
Till the chains of your dreams are broken,
No place in this world you can be.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Now the shorelines beckon, there is a price for being free.
You pay for being free, I'll tell ya freedom don't come easy,
Free don't always come for free,
Sometimes it's hard to know what to believe in.
Where to go, who to go, where to be, who to be.
That means you're driftin'.... driftin'
Yeah driftin' and dreamin', really goin' on a dream now.
Really goin' on a feelin', really goin' on a feelin'.
Driftin', driftin' and dreamin'.
Cause it's a place you've never been
Maybe a place you've never seen now
You can hear them callin' on the wind
Driftin' and dreamin', driftin' and dreamin'.
Really goin' on a dream now, really goin' on a dream now,
Really goin' on a dream now.
Oh, where is the dog star, oh, where's the moon.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Somedays the gales are howling, sometimes the sea is still as glass.
Oh, raise the main sail, oh, lash the mast.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Now the shorelines beckon, there is a price for being free.
There's a sea bird cryin' and there's a ghost wind blowing
And it's calling you, to that misty swirling sea.
Till the chains of your dreams are broken,
No place in this world you can be.
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea.
Now the shorelines beckon, there is a price for being free.
You pay for being free, I'll tell ya freedom don't come easy,
Free don't always come for free,
Sometimes it's hard to know what to believe in.
Where to go, who to go, where to be, who to be.
That means you're driftin'.... driftin'
Yeah driftin' and dreamin', really goin' on a dream now.
Really goin' on a feelin', really goin' on a feelin'.
Driftin', driftin' and dreamin'.
Cause it's a place you've never been
Maybe a place you've never seen now
You can hear them callin' on the wind
Driftin' and dreamin', driftin' and dreamin'.
Really goin' on a dream now, really goin' on a dream now,
Really goin' on a dream now.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Saw the dead play this in Tampa, 03. It was amazing....
I love this song. A man lost; its like any other Dead song....
well if you think about it; I am sure it is about Jerry's addiction and how Bobby; as well as the rest of the Band wanted him to sober up .. "You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea." He had been junkin hard for a few years when this song was first played ..
This song always reminded me of folks that took too much acid over the years and kinda LOST touch with reality. Lost Sailor...
You're a lost sailor, been away too long at sea. Now the shorelines beckon, there is a price for being free. (meaning there's a price for all those acid trips...)
I think ShivaX hits it on the head with it being mostly about acid casualties from back in the day. A lot of them just kept wandering (and wondering) without really getting any roots anywhere. That lack opportunities by sticking with one thing or of having someone close in your life is the "price for being free".
This is the second of Weir/Barlow's songs about those kinds of crazy guys that took a little too much too fast. Estimated Prophet is about the really out-there guys who used to want to talk to Bobby back stage about their ideas and it always this really intense trip that bordered on a religious experience for the spaced out guy.
I don't see the song being about Jerry and his bad habits as much. I think Feel Like A Stranger is closer to what Bobby was thinking about Jerry's descent into addiction and how it affected their relationship.