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.
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.