The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Oh, the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
Lyrics submitted by Jack, edited by Mellow_Harsher
When the Ship Comes In Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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I AGREE 100% with tommy87.
This song is a beautiful anthem for those working for social/political change!
Look:
Oh the fishes will laugh As they swim out of the path And the seagulls they'll be smiling. And the rocks on the sands Will proudly stand, The hour that the ship comes in.
This implies that the coming of the ship (the change, the reform, the new generation, etc) is a GOOD thing for all those it will effect.
And the words that are used For to get the ship confused Will not be understood as they're spoken. For the chains of the sea Will have busted in the night And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
The political attacks, lies, mudslinging, slander, etc. of the opponents of "the ship" will for once, not be effective.
A song will lift As the mainsail shifts And the boat drifts on to the shoreline. And the sun will respect Every face on the deck, The hour that the ship comes in.
Then the sands will roll Out a carpet of gold For your weary toes to be a-touchin' And the ship's wise men Will remind you once again That the whole wide world is watchin'.
Again, this suggests that the coming of "the ship" is a beautiful and triumphant thing! I really love the line "The ship's wise men will remind you once again that the whole wide world is watching." President Kennedy had proclaimed that "the eyes of the world are upon us," and Martin Luther King + other advocates of civil rights constantly strove to remind the country that THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING!
The last two stanzas are triumphant and glorious and always fill me with hope when I listen to them!
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered. And like Pharaoh's tribe, They'll be drownded in the tide, And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.
Social/political change/reform and/or the "passing of the torch" to a new generation is going to happen! And those who oppress their fellow men (like Pharaoh's tribe) and those who have the establishment/the money/all odds on their side (like Goliath) will be defeated!
It a beautiful, happy, triumphant, hopeful, motivating song with GREAT imagery!
(Just one comment on the hotel room story... maybe the trouble getting a room set Dylan off or something, but we all know that Dylan was like a conductor that channeled all the electricity of the events and emotions of his times into his music; thus, whether consciously or subconsciously, I guarantee Dylan wrote this song about more than a hotel room.)
I agree with YOU 100%. I've been a Dylan fan for almost 40 years now & this song is absolutely saying, " someday, the people will get together & do something to let our "leaders" know that we are calling them out on all their BS, & we will take over & do the right thing finally. We'll lead ourselves with integrity & truth & they will be out." I don't have time to be eloquent right now, anyway, it IS happening!! One of my very good friends has a plan for a GLOBAL SUMMIT meeting so we can all stop killing each other & find ways to take care of the earth so we don't have to answer difficult questions from future generations like "So, you guys KNEW that oil wasn't renewable, yet you just kept using it without finding a different way- what about US? what did you think we were going to do? Thanks for the mess Grandma & Grandpa."<br /> This guy's name is Bob & his website is GLOBALSUMMIT.ORG .<br /> Anyway, he gave out $15,000 of his own money in prizes for videos sent in for a contest me made to have people imagine what it would be like to have an intelligent alternative to weaponry to solve our differences & using sustainable resources so we can pass on a beautiful world to future generations. He spent over $10,000 of his own money just to put on the contest. He is writing a book right now that will be out in July I think. Bob Mc Cormick. I am so glad that YOU GOT IT!! keep it up clever man, the masses WILL take control & do the right thing.<br />
Yep!, it's triumphant. And righteous.<br /> Taking the story about the inspiration it's about the triumph of youth and change over the old order. Dylan and co are on the ship, the hotel clerk is amongst those surrendering and washed away by the incoming tide.<br /> <br /> One of my very favourite early Dylan songs. Particularly love the last 4 lines.
I have always thought that When The Ship Comes In is a metaphor for social change. Each verse lists all these good things that will happen when the ship comes in e.g "the winds will stop....the rocks in the sand will proudly stand.....the sun will respect every face on the deck.....the hour that the ship comes in. Which i believe to mean that everything will be better when social change occurs. It seems to fit perfectly but maybe thats just me.
i read that dylan wrote this to a hotel clerk who pissed him off
I just wanted to add to what '5isjusta4letterword' said, as everyone whose seen 'No Direction Home' will know, the story goes that when Dylan was travelling around with Joan Baez on her tour (this was just before Bob was a huge star) and the tour manager refused to get Dylan a room. Joan then used her status, threatening to quit the tour and so on, and eventually got him the room. In the morning Joan Baez went into Bob's room and found out that Dylan had been up all night and had just finshed this song, 'When The Ship Comes In', it apparently sums up his fellings on the people and events, to quote Baez 'Bob was hanging all of them with his eyes'. This is a great song, one of his best written. If anyone has theories on the hidden meanings and criptic metaphor i'd like to hear it.
Maybe this isn't what inspired Dylan, but a lot of the imagery in this song reminds me of imagery from The Lord of the Rings... if you've read it, maybe you'll dig this, maybe you won't. But the whole idea of "When the Ship comes in" reminds me of the very end of The Return of the King, when Frodo, Sam and Bilbo sail west to the Undying Lands, and the constant references throughout the trilogy to the waning Elven population as they also sail west.
Maybe I'm just too much of a dork? I do realize that some of the lyrics in the song don't fit with my idea, namely the last two verses. But the idea of people arriving by ship to a "promised land" of sorts, especially in the 5th and 6th verses, particularly "And the sun will respect every face on the deck" made me think of the song in this light.
Anyway...it's a beautiful and devastating song.
Bob Dylans "when the ship comes in" Is about the return of the Ancient people of Atlantis, who will reture to earth and aid mankind in there darkests hour when the world is about to change.
This song is heavy laden with allusions to Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche. Morning, Stillest Hour, Ship (Ubermensche), Sea (Society), Foes (Last Man)... I hear Nietzsche in many of Dylan's works. What do you think?
i love this song. Yeah it said somthing bout that in the no direction home movie
it is about social change, the upsetting experience at the hotel was just a trigger. Sort of reminds me to the song "we shall overcome".
yes it is true it was written in the wake of being refused a hotel room because of his scruffy image, but inspired only so much as Ode to a Grecian Urn was written about a vase in the living room or the love song of alfred prufrock was written about some guy in a coffeeshop
Obviously a song about change. Introduced by Dylan- a song about new , different Goliath's that must be stopped. The sea is often used as a place of uncertainty, where no man makes a home and where the unknown lies. When the ship comes in there will be the collision of the outcast or departed with the structures of society on land. Very well written and very good, this song shows how much better Dylan got at channeling his anger since Masters of War