"Now hold fast, fingers,
Don't let her slip away.
Hold fast 'cause you need her,
to get the ship back to the bay."
The sailboat symbolizes him and his life. The rope is his girl's love. He is in a tumultuous period of his life, which is symbolized by a storm or some kind of impending shipwreck. Opposing forces - the water and the elements - are his life situations that are challenging him to keep his grip on the rope. If he releases the rope, the sail will come down and he won't get the ship back to the calm of the bay (his life won't return to normalcy and happiness). The song is saying that her love is something he can cling to that will pull him through the bad times. She is the sail on his boast in the sea of his life, basically. Maritime metaphors are fun :)
"Now hold fast, fingers, Don't let her slip away. Hold fast 'cause you need her, to get the ship back to the bay."
The sailboat symbolizes him and his life. The rope is his girl's love. He is in a tumultuous period of his life, which is symbolized by a storm or some kind of impending shipwreck. Opposing forces - the water and the elements - are his life situations that are challenging him to keep his grip on the rope. If he releases the rope, the sail will come down and he won't get the ship back to the calm of the bay (his life won't return to normalcy and happiness). The song is saying that her love is something he can cling to that will pull him through the bad times. She is the sail on his boast in the sea of his life, basically. Maritime metaphors are fun :)