This one is pretty clear, the entire song is about a sea rescue. A ship containing over a hundred people need to be rescued from the sea. The "gunshot' at the beginning is the sound of the crash. Fair Charlotte is the Life Boat that carried the narrator and the other rescuers. The last person the narrator rescued was a beautiful woman who needed to be cut free. My impression is that the narrator may have fell in love with her but set her free both physically and metaphorically (ie, knew he couldn't have her}
This one is pretty clear, the entire song is about a sea rescue. A ship containing over a hundred people need to be rescued from the sea. The "gunshot' at the beginning is the sound of the crash. Fair Charlotte is the Life Boat that carried the narrator and the other rescuers. The last person the narrator rescued was a beautiful woman who needed to be cut free. My impression is that the narrator may have fell in love with her but set her free both physically and metaphorically (ie, knew he couldn't have her}