Some here have said that the meaning of Calypso was for the USSR, and some make it about a simple boat.
Well, the latter is partially true, it was about the Calypso, a mid sized research vessel that for many years had brought breakthroughs and discoveries on the high seas. Unfortunately, the ship sank in a California Harbor if I remember. The song has a much larger meaning though. It is about not only the ship, but about how we can learn to live better by looking at our aquatic counterparts:
"To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea."
The Calypso's purpose was to find out about the sea's life, and apply it to our lives on land. In the song, John gives reference to being free, showing others the way to life, to be in the service of life and the living, and to find answers to questions that haven't been asked yet.
The lyrics have a very deep meaning in them, just like many John Denver songs. And he wasn't a communist sympathizer like some here have posted, John Denver only wanted peace between the two superpowers, as did most people by that time.
Some here have said that the meaning of Calypso was for the USSR, and some make it about a simple boat.
Well, the latter is partially true, it was about the Calypso, a mid sized research vessel that for many years had brought breakthroughs and discoveries on the high seas. Unfortunately, the ship sank in a California Harbor if I remember. The song has a much larger meaning though. It is about not only the ship, but about how we can learn to live better by looking at our aquatic counterparts:
"To light up the darkness and show us the way For though we are strangers in your silent world To live on the land we must learn from the sea."
The Calypso's purpose was to find out about the sea's life, and apply it to our lives on land. In the song, John gives reference to being free, showing others the way to life, to be in the service of life and the living, and to find answers to questions that haven't been asked yet.
The lyrics have a very deep meaning in them, just like many John Denver songs. And he wasn't a communist sympathizer like some here have posted, John Denver only wanted peace between the two superpowers, as did most people by that time.