Essentially he is not wanting to get caught in the rat race with all of the other fools and lose sight of what is really important. And for those who don't get out of it are in the ship thinking that they are on the correct path ("torn by the promise of women/lace/gold/cotton/pearls"), but will pay for it a later time, perhaps post mortem. In addition, the ship isn't even going to the right destination ("You sail AWAY from the light of the world...")

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I love this song, but after reading the lyrics again, it reminds me of how I feel about our current leadership under "W".

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i think this song is painfully underrated.

it's incredible songwriting and composing for a one-hit wonder..
some call it a prophecy, that sadly is ringing true..

something for kate did a gorgeous cover of this song on their live at the corner album.

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Great song, meg is right thats its underrated, definitely underplayed. Cdhound1 makes a perfect point about it too, its contemporary 20 + yrs after it came out...

Ok, I'll start to interpret by saying these guys saw tomorrow big time, and I bet they're all in good shape these days, if they weren't fools that is. They start with saying the ship is going to a place where no one has ever returned, that would be death...true? Drawn by the joker...etc. and who would that be? Sounds like the serpant of old to me, the place where they keep all the darkness you need and leave the Light of the World, a name for Jesus. Then repeats, "you will pay, you will pay and again..tomorrow." Yes, we can pay and will pay, but Jesus by the Word and Blood says....He paid. Then the call for salvation, they don't want to be on a boat with fools, why? Cause like the Titanic it sinks eventually. Look at the words, the avarice and greed and the endless sea, leave you in the shallows. Revelation describes the masses as an ocean or "sea" so the whole world is wrapped up in greed and about to hit the rocks of destruction in the weak *shallow* economy, see? "Traveling the world in search of no good," well, that can describe all kinds of deception, but this one has sodom in it which isn't in the lyrics above for whatever reason but helps in understanding what they are trying to relate in the song. "Using all the people," sounds like the government and elite, no....that is world wide the situation. Now, the pay tomorrow, don't know what the time frame for these guys is but I do know Jesus paid for all of man kind, today...yesterday, and forever and who so ever will, can receive that salvation and stay off of this ship of fools!