"The Doldrums" is an area in the ocean, near the Equator, where there can be no wind at all for weeks at a time. Sailing ships could become becalmed for very long stretches, and deep depressions and suicides among their crews were not uncommon. This song describes such an event; the drowned man left the ship intentionally "on a windless night;" no storm blew him overboard. His friend, the singer, tried to save him but failed.
"Ah, but you did slip" conveys profound regret and sorrow. The song repeatedly contrasts the "living man's" fortunate life - his marriage to his beloved, most beautiful wife, his material wealth (there's a lot of gold on his finger), and his simply being alive - with the state of his emotionally unstable friend, now cold, alone, low, dark in the deep ("I'm a living man, and you're a cold one"). Eventually, a little wind blows up, to fill their sails and end the Doldrums/doldrums, and their lucky ship speeds across the sea - "hauls away" for home.
We can speculate endlessly about the singer's relationship with his wife, but I think he's very happily married; his heavy, gold wedding ring could be seen to symbolize the strength of their bond. But there's no doubt in my mind about how he feels about his dead friend, whom he tried to save but could not. The song is about as sad as a song can be. The last "Haul away, haul away for home" brings me to tears every time I play it or sing it. The music is undeniably mournful as well. Of course, if you don't know what the Doldrums are, you wouldn't know the origin of the phrase "to be in the doldrums," and you could not possibly guess at the reason for this suicidal sailor's depression, or know that it was suicide; weak and unstable ("you never were a steady bold one") he could not endure the Doldrums any longer. I enjoyed all the creative speculation in this thread, and there could be layers of meaning symbolized, but the story this song tells is very simple and straightforward. One of my very favorites, from my very favorite musician/balladeer.
P.S. If you have not yet read the Patrick O'Brien series that the movie "Master and Commander" is based on, do yourself a huge favor if you love to read. They are widely considered to be the best historical novels on any subject ever written. I have read them all twice (there are I think 25 of them). I enjoyed the movie immensely (MK wrote the score, if you didn't know), but obviously it left a lot of great stuff out.
"The Doldrums" is an area in the ocean, near the Equator, where there can be no wind at all for weeks at a time. Sailing ships could become becalmed for very long stretches, and deep depressions and suicides among their crews were not uncommon. This song describes such an event; the drowned man left the ship intentionally "on a windless night;" no storm blew him overboard. His friend, the singer, tried to save him but failed. "Ah, but you did slip" conveys profound regret and sorrow. The song repeatedly contrasts the "living man's" fortunate life - his marriage to his beloved, most beautiful wife, his material wealth (there's a lot of gold on his finger), and his simply being alive - with the state of his emotionally unstable friend, now cold, alone, low, dark in the deep ("I'm a living man, and you're a cold one"). Eventually, a little wind blows up, to fill their sails and end the Doldrums/doldrums, and their lucky ship speeds across the sea - "hauls away" for home. We can speculate endlessly about the singer's relationship with his wife, but I think he's very happily married; his heavy, gold wedding ring could be seen to symbolize the strength of their bond. But there's no doubt in my mind about how he feels about his dead friend, whom he tried to save but could not. The song is about as sad as a song can be. The last "Haul away, haul away for home" brings me to tears every time I play it or sing it. The music is undeniably mournful as well. Of course, if you don't know what the Doldrums are, you wouldn't know the origin of the phrase "to be in the doldrums," and you could not possibly guess at the reason for this suicidal sailor's depression, or know that it was suicide; weak and unstable ("you never were a steady bold one") he could not endure the Doldrums any longer. I enjoyed all the creative speculation in this thread, and there could be layers of meaning symbolized, but the story this song tells is very simple and straightforward. One of my very favorites, from my very favorite musician/balladeer. P.S. If you have not yet read the Patrick O'Brien series that the movie "Master and Commander" is based on, do yourself a huge favor if you love to read. They are widely considered to be the best historical novels on any subject ever written. I have read them all twice (there are I think 25 of them). I enjoyed the movie immensely (MK wrote the score, if you didn't know), but obviously it left a lot of great stuff out.