I agree with those who say that there is no really deep meaning or allusion to any governing symbology, unlike something like "Not to Touch the Earth" or "The End", where it is possible to demonstrate reference to existing symbolic forms.
That said, it is a great example of the visually, viscerally evocative effect of some of some of their lyrics.
I used to spend a lot of time on the beach in California. Not so much the populated beaches in S Cal, but more like the isolated ones from Santa Barbara north. If you maybe smoked some--or drank some wine--and heard this song in your head, with the sound of the waves in the background, you could see a Manila galleon, on the new route back to Acapulco (that was the run: out from Acapulco with gold, back from Manila with trade goods), running with the NW wind that blows along the coast--maybe worried by the fog as you near Point Conception--the end of a long voyage becoming more real to you, thinking about home...
I think that when they were at their best, they were very thoughtful lyricists--both Morrison and Krieger. Very fine stuff to be on commercial radio...but perhaps a case of pearls before swine.
I agree with those who say that there is no really deep meaning or allusion to any governing symbology, unlike something like "Not to Touch the Earth" or "The End", where it is possible to demonstrate reference to existing symbolic forms.
That said, it is a great example of the visually, viscerally evocative effect of some of some of their lyrics.
I used to spend a lot of time on the beach in California. Not so much the populated beaches in S Cal, but more like the isolated ones from Santa Barbara north. If you maybe smoked some--or drank some wine--and heard this song in your head, with the sound of the waves in the background, you could see a Manila galleon, on the new route back to Acapulco (that was the run: out from Acapulco with gold, back from Manila with trade goods), running with the NW wind that blows along the coast--maybe worried by the fog as you near Point Conception--the end of a long voyage becoming more real to you, thinking about home...
I think that when they were at their best, they were very thoughtful lyricists--both Morrison and Krieger. Very fine stuff to be on commercial radio...but perhaps a case of pearls before swine.