O' Sailor Lyrics

Lyric discussion by sarcasticSmith 

Cover art for O' Sailor lyrics by Fiona Apple

This song obviously has a lot to do with a painful relationship, but it is still ambiguous. Does anyone have ideas about the "by the boards" stuff? What does that allude to? Btw, her new album is a lot less bitter piano-pounding, more mature reflection. I love both so much. Thank you Sony for finally freeing Fiona!

@sarcasticSmith From google: The phrase "by the boards" or "go by the board" has been used since around 1630 to mean something has been lost, neglected, or fallen overboard and been carried away. For example, "With all the crime around here, the practice of leaving the house unlocked has gone by the board". The "board" in the expression refers to the board of a ship.

I'm guessing that's how everyone else had an idea that it was about "something that'd been lost" and thus assumed it was a relationship. Unless she's really bummed...

@sarcasticSmith PS, Oddly, my favorite version was from Tower Records on Sunset (performed live in LA) in which her voice cracks during the chorus. For some reason I just find it so damned endearing.