The Last Ship Lyrics

Lyric discussion by fabaldoni 

Cover art for The Last Ship lyrics by Sting

The Magdalene girl, rolling a rock from a tomb, resurrection, Calvary Hill, these all seem to make a reference to the Bible where Mary Magdalene finds Jesus resurrected. Calvary hill is where Jesus was crucified.

Balthazar's feast is also a biblical reference. Balthazar was a kind of Babylonia. He destroyed the first temple and had a feast after that with what had been plundered in the temple. During the feast the hand of God (the finger in the lyrics) comes down and writes on the wall. God writes that Balthazar will die soon, and that very day he does die. Incidentally this is where the saying "You can see the writing on the wall" come s from.

My Interpretation