Ridiculously brilliant song–you could publish the lyrics as a poem and they'd be brilliant on their own, and the music adds immeasurably.
The part that always stands out to me is the line "And pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine." We have this old explorer who's clearly been all over the world, and he wants to discover something new, this other new world, but he doesn't realize that doing so will cost him the only thing he loves. And that's something I think a lot of people can relate to: we charge forward, seeking something new and exciting, only to realize after it's too late that this new pursuit requires us to sacrifice things and people we love. And is it worth it? The narrator doesn't think so.
It reminds me a bit of Tennyson's Ulysses: the aged adventurer grows restless and wants to set out again on a new voyage, to "sail beyond the sunset . . . until I die" (which has always bothered me–that he can leave behind his wife and his son so easily). The difference is that the poem ends before the journey begins, and now, listening to Another New World, I wonder if Ulysses, like the unnamed explorer in the song, will ever feel that the search for another new world was not worth the burning of his.
It should also be expressed that it's his attachment to his world (the Annabelle) that ultimately saved his life. The lyrics talk about how the crew all had family that they waved goodbye to and this is paralleled in that they all left one by one to likely brave the weather and return home. The narrator has nothing to return home to and so stayed with his ship, using her to keep warm until he was rescued.
It should also be expressed that it's his attachment to his world (the Annabelle) that ultimately saved his life. The lyrics talk about how the crew all had family that they waved goodbye to and this is paralleled in that they all left one by one to likely brave the weather and return home. The narrator has nothing to return home to and so stayed with his ship, using her to keep warm until he was rescued.
He had nothing to lose back home and so he had no inspiration to foolishly brave the snow. It was the very principle...
He had nothing to lose back home and so he had no inspiration to foolishly brave the snow. It was the very principle of 'the captain going down with his ship' that ultimately saved him.
Ridiculously brilliant song–you could publish the lyrics as a poem and they'd be brilliant on their own, and the music adds immeasurably.
The part that always stands out to me is the line "And pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine." We have this old explorer who's clearly been all over the world, and he wants to discover something new, this other new world, but he doesn't realize that doing so will cost him the only thing he loves. And that's something I think a lot of people can relate to: we charge forward, seeking something new and exciting, only to realize after it's too late that this new pursuit requires us to sacrifice things and people we love. And is it worth it? The narrator doesn't think so.
It reminds me a bit of Tennyson's Ulysses: the aged adventurer grows restless and wants to set out again on a new voyage, to "sail beyond the sunset . . . until I die" (which has always bothered me–that he can leave behind his wife and his son so easily). The difference is that the poem ends before the journey begins, and now, listening to Another New World, I wonder if Ulysses, like the unnamed explorer in the song, will ever feel that the search for another new world was not worth the burning of his.
Great comment. I wish people would post more good insight and comparisons to literature like that. Thanks.
Great comment. I wish people would post more good insight and comparisons to literature like that. Thanks.
It should also be expressed that it's his attachment to his world (the Annabelle) that ultimately saved his life. The lyrics talk about how the crew all had family that they waved goodbye to and this is paralleled in that they all left one by one to likely brave the weather and return home. The narrator has nothing to return home to and so stayed with his ship, using her to keep warm until he was rescued.
It should also be expressed that it's his attachment to his world (the Annabelle) that ultimately saved his life. The lyrics talk about how the crew all had family that they waved goodbye to and this is paralleled in that they all left one by one to likely brave the weather and return home. The narrator has nothing to return home to and so stayed with his ship, using her to keep warm until he was rescued.
He had nothing to lose back home and so he had no inspiration to foolishly brave the snow. It was the very principle...
He had nothing to lose back home and so he had no inspiration to foolishly brave the snow. It was the very principle of 'the captain going down with his ship' that ultimately saved him.