I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
We sail tonight for Singapore
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny moor
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the Chinamen
Walked the sewers of Paris
I danced along a colored wind
Dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
We sail tonight for Singapore
Don't fall asleep while you're ashore
Cross your heart and hope to die
When you hear the children cry
Let marrow bone and cleaver choose
While making feet for children's shoes
Through the alley, back from hell
When you hear that steeple bell
You must say goodbye to me
Wipe him down with gasoline
Till his arms are hard and mean
From now on boys this iron boat's your home
So heave away, boys
We sail tonight for Singapore
Take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door
The whole town's made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam
They all become Italian dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth
Get yourself a dollar's worth
Away boys, away boys, heave away
The captain is a one-armed dwarf
He's throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king
So take this ring
We sail tonight for Singapore
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny moor
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the Chinamen
Walked the sewers of Paris
I drank along a colored wind
I dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny moor
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the Chinamen
Walked the sewers of Paris
I danced along a colored wind
Dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
We sail tonight for Singapore
Don't fall asleep while you're ashore
Cross your heart and hope to die
When you hear the children cry
Let marrow bone and cleaver choose
While making feet for children's shoes
Through the alley, back from hell
When you hear that steeple bell
You must say goodbye to me
Wipe him down with gasoline
Till his arms are hard and mean
From now on boys this iron boat's your home
So heave away, boys
We sail tonight for Singapore
Take your blankets from the floor
Wash your mouth out by the door
The whole town's made of iron ore
Every witness turns to steam
They all become Italian dreams
Fill your pockets up with earth
Get yourself a dollar's worth
Away boys, away boys, heave away
The captain is a one-armed dwarf
He's throwing dice along the wharf
In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king
So take this ring
We sail tonight for Singapore
We're all as mad as hatters here
I've fallen for a tawny moor
Took off to the land of nod
Drank with all the Chinamen
Walked the sewers of Paris
I drank along a colored wind
I dangled from a rope of sand
You must say goodbye to me
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
Singapore Lyrics as written by Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics © JALMA MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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what imagery...i love the eery feel of this tune, sounds like gothic vaudelville. tom is king.
this song def deserves more comments.. i think it's such an eccentric song.. the tune and the way he sings, and what he's singing... it's like the old-time world of sailors.. these are the parts of history that they don't put in textbooks..
this song, is flat out amazing. everything about it is great. I'm suprised there isn't more comments.
The legend Tom here continues the sailor theme from his previous album Swordfishtrombones, particularly the second track from that album, Shore Leave. It also has shades of the opening track of that album, Underground. Both are jumpy, up-tempo (at least in Wait's world) introductory tracks about a wolrd of misfits. But where Shore Leave was downbeat, low-key and focused on the minutia of a rainy trip, Singapore is a tour of a carnival of misfits.
Oh, and the lyric is 'rope of sin' not sand.
LYRICAL EXPLANATIONS!
The Land of Nod = Falling asleep obviously, but Nod was also the land that Cain took of for after killing Abel in the Bible.
Making Feet for Children's shoes= euphemism for sex.
In the land of the blind...= This is a quote from Erasmus.
Spectacular track from a spectacular album. Long live The Tom!
It is "rope of sand", not "rope of sin". Take a look at Waits' website lyrics.
you're trying to hard: the land of nod refers to heroin use
@Omnicide Ha! Wynken Blynken and Nod<br /> Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night<br /> Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—<br /> Sailed on a river of crystal light<br /> Into a sea of dew...<br /> <br /> <br />
wow, making feet for children's shoes, thas an incredible line, thanks omnicide
i believe land of nod means land of wandering (i checked. it's hebrew)
see above: land of nod is heroin use-they nod off when they're loaded. it's called being on the nod
i love the tune! its very very pirate-y haha. i love singapore!
it's cool how tom alters his voice to fit with the theme of the song.. anyways this is a great opening track for rain dogs, his best album imho
This song is amazing; I can't believe it has so little comments!
First off, "we're all as mad as hatter's here" refers to 18th and 19th century hatters, who went crazy from mercury poisoning. Korsakoff's syndrome is caused by this, which counted for the "mad hatters."
I know the sewers of Paris are a popular tourist attraction., hence why they'd walk the sewers of Paris.
"Let marrow bone and cleaver choose while making feet for children shoes" is a reference to sex, as Omnicide said. "Marrowbone and cleaver" is slang for penis.
As for "Wipe him down with gasoline 'til his arms are hard and mean," I'm not exactly sure on the reference, but I know gasoline was used to treat head lice and to clean clothes a long time ago.
"Wash your mouth out by the door, the whole town's made of iron ore." This could be a reference to the fact that too much iron is toxic.
My favorite line of the song is "In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king." As was said, this is a quote by Erasmus: "In regione caecorum rex est luscus."
Wipe him down with gasoline - refers to wiping moving parts of the ships engine with an oily rag so that the rods and levers (arms) are free from rust and have a purposeful sheen to them.
I'm from singapore.makes this song twice as awesome