is this just another day, this god forgotten place
first comes love and then comes pain, let the games begin
questions rise and answers fall, insurmountable
love boat captain, take the reigns and steer us towards the clear, here
it's already been sung, but it can't be said enough
all you need is love
is this just another phase? of earthquakes making waves
trying to shake the cancer off? oh, stupid human beings
once you hold the hand of love, it's all surmountable
hold me and make it the truth
that when all is lost there'll be you
cuz to the universe, i don't mean a thing
and there is just one word i still believe
and it's love...
it's an art to live with pain, mix the light into grey
lost nine friends we'll never know, two years ago today
and if our lives became too long, would it add to our regret?
and the young they can lose hope
cuz they can't see beyond today...
the wisdom that the old can't give away, hey
constant recoil
sometimes life don't leave you alone
hold me and make it the truth
that when all is lost there will be you
cuz to the universe, i don't mean a thing
and there is just one word and i still believe
and it's love... love, love, love, love
love boat captain, take the reigns, steer us towards the clear
i know it's already been sung, it can't be said enough
love is all you need... all you need is love
love, love...



Lyrics submitted by Stephen_Flow

Track duration: 04:36


Love Boat Captain song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:for one, I disagree with ANYONE who said this Album wasn't as great as all their other work. Riot Act is quite possibly my favorite, and this song might be my favorite on the album (there are too many good songs to shoose from)
    I beleive this song is a tribute to love in general and how we need more of it in the world. it also touches on significance in the world and that, to the universe, we (individually) don't mean a thing, but we can mean the world to each other.
    Flag BobbyBSeeon May 28, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is basically a "Why did God allow this to happen" song about the Roskilde incident, so far as I can tell. Probably the best song on Riot Act, along with "I Am Mine" and "Save You."
    Flag $p$on July 18, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song gets better and better everytime i listen to it. and correction it's "us stupid human beings' not "oh, stupid human beings"
    Flag akyKASHMIRon January 18, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:artsy: perhaps 'trying to shake the cancer off? oh, stupid human beings' suggests that we're stupid to assume that the bad things that we do to each other are not natural parts of ourselves, that they're a 'cancer' that can be removed and separated from oneself. Maybe evil isn't like a cancer in a human body. Maybe it's an integral part of the body (so to speak).
    Flag GotMeNowon January 02, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the band was reeling*
    Flag Lost Dogon September 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is about a lot of things, its a bit of philosophy on life as much as it is tribute to those killed in the roskilde tragedy. the lines 'lost 9 friends we'll never know, 2 years ago today' pays respect to those who died, thanking them for being fans as much as it is apologising.

    the first verse, i think, is about how the band reacted to the accident. 'is this just another day, this god forgotten place' tells of the aftermath of the tragedy, in that they cant bear time itself. 'first comes love and then comes pain' is both about how the band felt and the people who died themselves felt. 'questions rise...' is eddie questioning how it could have been avoided, but we see the answers cant be had, its 'insurmountable'.

    it goes on to tell the importance of love, how anything can be overcome if we have that. i think thats beautiful. however, the song is less about love as it is about loss, love just helps us overcome this.

    the song has a definite theme of insignificance to it, 'cuz to the universe, i don't mean a thing'. its like, from a humanist perspective, all of this is irrelevant, there is no real meaning or purpose to life, but if we believe in love, the world might be a better place. love will be the salvation of humanity, love can bring us back from the brink of destruction or horror. it can even get us over the pain of loss. ultimately, love is the most important thing in the world, it holds together the fabric of society.

    'its an art to live with pain, mix the light in with grey' is such a powerful line, and is just so right. this ties back in with roskilde, the and was reeling, feeling responsible for the tragedy, and they had to live with that pain.

    every one of us could learn from this song
    Flag Lost Dogon September 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:correction in the lyrics i have to make because its important. It's : trying to shake the cancer off "US" stupid human beings.
    Flag CCDevlinon January 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This was the first song I listened to after Ten. I hadn't really dug into them at all for years and since MTV and the radio don't play them alot I never got to know them better until I got curious myself. This song blew me away instantly. The pureness in his voice, the pain and true sorrow is heartfelt. This song made me a huge fan of Pearl Jam because I was hooked on their music from that moment on.
    Flag CCDevlinon January 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I totally agree with Meithan. Great interpretation, thanks.
    I suppose the line on the Roskilde accident could be a sort of "commemoration", but it could also want to say that (as WildFlower wrote) if people would understand what love really means in our lives, things like that wouldn't happen.
    Flag Jules_bjon September 24, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:to me the key is this (and I think it's very profound):

    to the universe, I don't mean a thing
    but there's just one word I still believe, and it's "love"

    it's Eddie's realization as a humanist that the only thing that matters is human love...because to the universe we don't mean a thing...but to each other we do matter...
    Flag ukcufon September 22, 2006   Link

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