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The leading lights of the age all wondered among themselves what I would do next,
After all that I'd found, in my circles around the world, was there anything left?
"Gentlemen," I said, "I've studied the maps, and if what I am thinking is right,
There's another new world, at the top of the world, for whoever can break through the ice,"
I looked 'round the room, in that way I once had, and I saw that they wanted belief,
So I said, "All I've got are my guts and my God," then I paused, "and the Annabel Lee."
Oh, the Annabel Lee, I saw their eyes shine, the most beautiful ship in the sea,
My Nina, my Pinta, my Santa MarÃ??Ã?Âa, my beautiful Annabel Lee
That spring we set sail, and the crowd waved from shore, and on board the sailors waved caps,
But I'd never had family, just the Annabel Lee, so I never had cause to look back.
I just studied the charts, set the course north, and towards dark I drifted toward sleep,
And I dreamed of the fine, deep harbor I'd find past the ice, for my Annabel Lee.
After that it got colder, and the world got quiet. It was never quite day or quite night.
And the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice.
After that all around us was vastness, one glassy desert of arsenic white,
And the waves that once lifted us, shifted instead into drifts against Annabel's sides.
And the crew gathered closer, at first for the comfort, but each morning would bring a new set
Of tracks in the snow, leading over the edge of the world, til I was the only one left.
And as the going got slower, colder and colder, my crew drifted closer to me,
At first for the comfort, but then it was more like the icebergs rammed Annabel Lee
As the floes shrieked her hull, the shouting began, and a mast snapped off in the wind,
And I woke up much later, my crew disappeared, and they never were heard from again
After that it gets cloudy,
But it feels like I laid there for days, or maybe for months
But Annabel held me, the two of us happy,
Just to think back on all we had done
I told her {We talked) of the other new worlds
We'd discover as she gave up her body to me,
As I chopped up her mainsail for timber,
I told her of all that we still had to see.
As the ice {frost} turned her moorings
To nine-tails and the wind lashed her sides in the cold,
I burned her to keep me alive every night in the loving embrace of her hold.
I can't {won't} call it rescue,
What brought me back here to this old world to drink and decline,
Pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine.
But sometimes at night, in my dreams,
Comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,
And I smile in my sleep,
Thinking Annabel Lee's finally made it to the top of the world.
Yeah, sometimes at night in my dreams comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,
And I smile in my sleep, thinking Annabel Lee's finally found another new world.
After all that I'd found, in my circles around the world, was there anything left?
"Gentlemen," I said, "I've studied the maps, and if what I am thinking is right,
There's another new world, at the top of the world, for whoever can break through the ice,"
I looked 'round the room, in that way I once had, and I saw that they wanted belief,
So I said, "All I've got are my guts and my God," then I paused, "and the Annabel Lee."
Oh, the Annabel Lee, I saw their eyes shine, the most beautiful ship in the sea,
My Nina, my Pinta, my Santa MarÃ??Ã?Âa, my beautiful Annabel Lee
That spring we set sail, and the crowd waved from shore, and on board the sailors waved caps,
But I'd never had family, just the Annabel Lee, so I never had cause to look back.
I just studied the charts, set the course north, and towards dark I drifted toward sleep,
And I dreamed of the fine, deep harbor I'd find past the ice, for my Annabel Lee.
After that it got colder, and the world got quiet. It was never quite day or quite night.
And the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice.
After that all around us was vastness, one glassy desert of arsenic white,
And the waves that once lifted us, shifted instead into drifts against Annabel's sides.
And the crew gathered closer, at first for the comfort, but each morning would bring a new set
Of tracks in the snow, leading over the edge of the world, til I was the only one left.
And as the going got slower, colder and colder, my crew drifted closer to me,
At first for the comfort, but then it was more like the icebergs rammed Annabel Lee
As the floes shrieked her hull, the shouting began, and a mast snapped off in the wind,
And I woke up much later, my crew disappeared, and they never were heard from again
After that it gets cloudy,
But it feels like I laid there for days, or maybe for months
But Annabel held me, the two of us happy,
Just to think back on all we had done
I told her {We talked) of the other new worlds
We'd discover as she gave up her body to me,
As I chopped up her mainsail for timber,
I told her of all that we still had to see.
As the ice {frost} turned her moorings
To nine-tails and the wind lashed her sides in the cold,
I burned her to keep me alive every night in the loving embrace of her hold.
I can't {won't} call it rescue,
What brought me back here to this old world to drink and decline,
Pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine.
But sometimes at night, in my dreams,
Comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,
And I smile in my sleep,
Thinking Annabel Lee's finally made it to the top of the world.
Yeah, sometimes at night in my dreams comes the singing of some unheard tropical bird,
And I smile in my sleep, thinking Annabel Lee's finally found another new world.
Lyrics submitted by hammerjack, edited by brianspade
Track duration: 07:34
"Another New World" as written by Josh Ritter
Lyrics © DUCHAMP, INC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Almost all songs are about love, drinking, break-ups, etc. and this song is no different.
This song is about a man who has found the girl of his dreams.
The adventure they go on is, of course, getting married.
Then, he ends up tearing up the marriage, yet he knows it.
"After that it got colder, and the world got quiet. It was never quite day or quite night.
And the sea turned the color of sky turned the color of sea turned the color of ice."
They started fighting, or something similar to that. Or even both of their success tore them apart, it doesn't matter, that's your interpretation.
Then, when he end's up getting "rescued" meaning, that they split up, and the girl ended up living on with her life and "making it to another new world." So that means that she ended up living on her dreams, etc.
I learned this in my music class, just an amazing song, with more meaning behind what people make it look like.
The part that always stands out to me is the line "And pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine." We have this old explorer who's clearly been all over the world, and he wants to discover something new, this other new world, but he doesn't realize that doing so will cost him the only thing he loves. And that's something I think a lot of people can relate to: we charge forward, seeking something new and exciting, only to realize after it's too late that this new pursuit requires us to sacrifice things and people we love. And is it worth it? The narrator doesn't think so.
It reminds me a bit of Tennyson's Ulysses: the aged adventurer grows restless and wants to set out again on a new voyage, to "sail beyond the sunset . . . until I die" (which has always bothered me—that he can leave behind his wife and his son so easily). The difference is that the poem ends before the journey begins, and now, listening to Another New World, I wonder if Ulysses, like the unnamed explorer in the song, will ever feel that the search for another new world was not worth the burning of his.
If you're wondering who Michael Shannon is, just go see "Revolutionary Road." He was nominated for an oscar for his performance and it's wonderful, as was his reading of Annabel Lee.
"Annabel Lee's finally made it to Another New World"
The leading lights of the age all wondered
amongst themselves what I would do next
After all that I've found in my travels around
the world was there anything left?
"Gentlemen," I said "I've studied the maps
and if what I am thinking is right
There's another new world at the top of the world
for whoever can break through the ice"
I looked round the room in the way I once
had and I saw that they wanted belief
So I said "all I got are my guts and my God
and I paused, and the Annabel Lee"
Oh the Annabel Lee, I saw their eyes shine,
the most beautiful ship in the sea,
My Nina, my Pinta, my Santa Maria,
my beautiful Annabel Lee
That spring I set sail as a crowd waved from shore
and on board the crew waved their hands
But I never had family just the Annabel Lee
so I didn't have cause to look back
I just set the course north, and I studied the charts
and towards dark I drifted towards sleep
and I dreamed of the fine deep harbor
I'd find past the ice for my Annabel Lee
After that it got colder the world got quiet
it was never quite day or quite night
and the sea turned the color of sky
turned the color of sea turned the color of ice
Till at last around us was vastness,
one vast glassy desert of arsenic white
and the waves that once lifted us sifted
instead into drifts against Annabel's sides
And the crew gathered closer at first for comfort
But each morning would bring a new set
of tracks in the snow leading over
the edge of the world till I was the only one left
After that it gets cloudy, but it feels like
I laid there for days and maybe for months
But Annabel held me the two of us happy
just to think back on all we had done
We talked of the other new worlds we discovered
till she gave up her body to me
And as I chopped up her main sail for timber
I told her of all that we still had to see
Then the frost turned her moorings to nine tails
and the wind lashed her sides in the cold
I burned her to keep me alive every night
in the loving embrace of her hold
And I won't call it rescue what brought me back
to the old world to drink and decline
And pretend that the search for another new world
was well worth the burning of mine
Sometimes at night in my dreams
comes the singing of some unknown tropical bird
and I smile in my sleep thinking
Annabel Lee had made it to Another New World
Yeah sometimes at night in my dreams
comes the singing of some unknown tropical bird
And I smile in my sleep thinking
Annabel Lee has made it to Another New World
There's a clear association between this song and Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", which is about a narrator's love for a girl named Annabel Lee. Their love is so strong that the angels grow envious, and send a wind, 'chilling and killing my Annabel Lee'. Full text here:
en.wikisource.org/wiki/…
Not only do the name and the themes correspond, the meter and the style of repetition that Josh uses evoke Poe's poetic style. The waltz count that underlies Josh's fingerpicking (ONE two three, sounds more like one-and-a-two-and-a-three-and-a in this song) is reminiscent of the trochaic rhythm (Stressed-unstressed-unstressed) in Poe's poem, and indeed in the name 'Annabel'.