Ha! I was right - people are really debating whether he lived or dies.
First, it's clearly open to interpretation, so you shouldn't be dogmatic or derogatory towards those who see the opposite side of you. Respect the different perspectives. No one knows except John and whoever he's told directly.
I'm not sure, myself. I can see with those who suggest his wife wasn't expecting him to live - that he was on the other line calling collect from Tokyo, and never came back but made a life for himself. But then, maybe she never expected he'd actually set off in his submarine and assumed he'd just left her. The call from Tokyo told her he did and he died. Or maybe she never expected that they would find him, and that was the surprise. If we're really logical about it, if he'd failed en route, the tides would have washed the boat up in British Columbia, and not in Tokyo. But I am doubtful John would have considered that detail.
The line "they smile when they can when they talk of the man" seems to imply he didn't make it - a sort of sad remembrance. But it might be that his friends are sad they can't muster the courage and imagination to make a new world for themselves. Think about it. How many of us listen to this song and become inspired, saying "Yeah!! I'm done with this world, I'm gonna pull a Walt Grace and move on" but get no further? Turns out the library doesn't actually have books on how to build a submarine, and we're not sure what else to do...so we talk about Walt over a pint and how inspiring it all is.
Despite my initial point, I caution against the suicide perspective. I personally see the song as being a metaphor about trying when things get tough. If Walt died, than I can accept the message to try even if you might die in the process. It's better to live for a day and die than to die after 10,000 days of having never lived. When he says "'Cause when you're done with this world, you know the next is up to you" - you have to take action. I don't think John is suggesting at all that people kill themselves when they are done with the world. I don't think he would. I think this is probably akin to his own journey out of a hard place and into a new perspective - when he packed up and moved to Montana.
Ultimately, I like to think that Walt lives. Because of the line "For once in his life it was quiet, when he learned how to turn in the tide, and the sky was aflare when he came up for air..." seems to point towards the reward of taking action. The quiet. The sky aflare. You know ,the sky would have been aflare at the coast he left on, every day. But maybe he never saw it. It was when he left the old world, he was able to see what he couldn't before. The coming up for air could also be the indicator that he actually made it.
Lived or died - Walt Grace tried while he was alive, and found peace, beauty and freedom in the process. That's the point.
very good view, i can see how that could be the outcome. i dont think in any way john is condoning the thought of suicide nor am i but i dont rule out that this song might have been that because john even stated in an interview that he was feed up with people trying to get to him that hypotethically he was gonna stab himself first before someone tried to get him that way no one has the luxury of saying that they got him.
very good view, i can see how that could be the outcome. i dont think in any way john is condoning the thought of suicide nor am i but i dont rule out that this song might have been that because john even stated in an interview that he was feed up with people trying to get to him that hypotethically he was gonna stab himself first before someone tried to get him that way no one has the luxury of saying that they got him.
Again though in the berkley interview, he talked about this song and kind of calrified that this song is about motivation so its fair to say that walt is supposed to live and rise above everyone's expectations about him.
Ha! I was right - people are really debating whether he lived or dies.
First, it's clearly open to interpretation, so you shouldn't be dogmatic or derogatory towards those who see the opposite side of you. Respect the different perspectives. No one knows except John and whoever he's told directly.
I'm not sure, myself. I can see with those who suggest his wife wasn't expecting him to live - that he was on the other line calling collect from Tokyo, and never came back but made a life for himself. But then, maybe she never expected he'd actually set off in his submarine and assumed he'd just left her. The call from Tokyo told her he did and he died. Or maybe she never expected that they would find him, and that was the surprise. If we're really logical about it, if he'd failed en route, the tides would have washed the boat up in British Columbia, and not in Tokyo. But I am doubtful John would have considered that detail.
The line "they smile when they can when they talk of the man" seems to imply he didn't make it - a sort of sad remembrance. But it might be that his friends are sad they can't muster the courage and imagination to make a new world for themselves. Think about it. How many of us listen to this song and become inspired, saying "Yeah!! I'm done with this world, I'm gonna pull a Walt Grace and move on" but get no further? Turns out the library doesn't actually have books on how to build a submarine, and we're not sure what else to do...so we talk about Walt over a pint and how inspiring it all is.
Despite my initial point, I caution against the suicide perspective. I personally see the song as being a metaphor about trying when things get tough. If Walt died, than I can accept the message to try even if you might die in the process. It's better to live for a day and die than to die after 10,000 days of having never lived. When he says "'Cause when you're done with this world, you know the next is up to you" - you have to take action. I don't think John is suggesting at all that people kill themselves when they are done with the world. I don't think he would. I think this is probably akin to his own journey out of a hard place and into a new perspective - when he packed up and moved to Montana.
Ultimately, I like to think that Walt lives. Because of the line "For once in his life it was quiet, when he learned how to turn in the tide, and the sky was aflare when he came up for air..." seems to point towards the reward of taking action. The quiet. The sky aflare. You know ,the sky would have been aflare at the coast he left on, every day. But maybe he never saw it. It was when he left the old world, he was able to see what he couldn't before. The coming up for air could also be the indicator that he actually made it.
Lived or died - Walt Grace tried while he was alive, and found peace, beauty and freedom in the process. That's the point.
It is really a great song.
very good view, i can see how that could be the outcome. i dont think in any way john is condoning the thought of suicide nor am i but i dont rule out that this song might have been that because john even stated in an interview that he was feed up with people trying to get to him that hypotethically he was gonna stab himself first before someone tried to get him that way no one has the luxury of saying that they got him.
very good view, i can see how that could be the outcome. i dont think in any way john is condoning the thought of suicide nor am i but i dont rule out that this song might have been that because john even stated in an interview that he was feed up with people trying to get to him that hypotethically he was gonna stab himself first before someone tried to get him that way no one has the luxury of saying that they got him.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=153634845&m=153634931...
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=153634845&m=153634931
he says it around the 22 minute mark.
Again though in the berkley interview, he talked about this song and kind of calrified that this song is about motivation so its fair to say that walt is supposed to live and rise above everyone's expectations about him.