I'm amazed by the variety of interpretations here. Since first hearing this some 40+ years ago, I've always felt this was a straightforward story, representing a first-hand account (your witness-my own hand) of a group of sailors (pirates?) who commandeer a ship, kill the existing crew, and sail to a far-off destination where they go ashore, destroy the ship, and happily live out their lives. Lines like "explore the ship" and "let no one leave alive" seem completely consistent with taking violently taking over an unfamiliar ship. And in a hostile take over of a ship, the first order of business is to secure the food supply to someone you trust, lest you risk poisoning ("replace the cook"). And once arriving at their safe haven, to them it is the most beautiful place ever, being the fulfillment of their dreams (sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all).
@JimbobAlbobjim I concur. I have always seen it as the deathbed confession (in a log book) of some old retired pirate, telling how he came to be in Tahiti or Mali or wherever. He tells about how he and his pirate pals, led by their charismatic captain, decided to retire from pirating and just "disappear," no doubt taking lots of booty with them. So they commandeered a ship, murdered everybody on board, and sailed off to "parts unknown" where the authorities will never find them. But then they got lost. Cuz they were in parts unknown. They were getting pretty...
@JimbobAlbobjim I concur. I have always seen it as the deathbed confession (in a log book) of some old retired pirate, telling how he came to be in Tahiti or Mali or wherever. He tells about how he and his pirate pals, led by their charismatic captain, decided to retire from pirating and just "disappear," no doubt taking lots of booty with them. So they commandeered a ship, murdered everybody on board, and sailed off to "parts unknown" where the authorities will never find them. But then they got lost. Cuz they were in parts unknown. They were getting pretty desperate and so were very happy when they sighted land. They destroyed the ship to make sure nobody could ever leave (and thus could not rat on the others), and that no evidence of their crime exists. And they lived happily ever after.
@JimbobAlbobjim This is exactly how I hear the song. It's not about death but life after a long voyage. It's a song about reality, not Valhalla. All other interpretations wish it to be about the afterlife, but it is about this life, finding someplace amazing and existing there. That said, I think I'll use it at my funeral.
@JimbobAlbobjim This is exactly how I hear the song. It's not about death but life after a long voyage. It's a song about reality, not Valhalla. All other interpretations wish it to be about the afterlife, but it is about this life, finding someplace amazing and existing there. That said, I think I'll use it at my funeral.
I'm amazed by the variety of interpretations here. Since first hearing this some 40+ years ago, I've always felt this was a straightforward story, representing a first-hand account (your witness-my own hand) of a group of sailors (pirates?) who commandeer a ship, kill the existing crew, and sail to a far-off destination where they go ashore, destroy the ship, and happily live out their lives. Lines like "explore the ship" and "let no one leave alive" seem completely consistent with taking violently taking over an unfamiliar ship. And in a hostile take over of a ship, the first order of business is to secure the food supply to someone you trust, lest you risk poisoning ("replace the cook"). And once arriving at their safe haven, to them it is the most beautiful place ever, being the fulfillment of their dreams (sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all).
@JimbobAlbobjim I concur. I have always seen it as the deathbed confession (in a log book) of some old retired pirate, telling how he came to be in Tahiti or Mali or wherever. He tells about how he and his pirate pals, led by their charismatic captain, decided to retire from pirating and just "disappear," no doubt taking lots of booty with them. So they commandeered a ship, murdered everybody on board, and sailed off to "parts unknown" where the authorities will never find them. But then they got lost. Cuz they were in parts unknown. They were getting pretty...
@JimbobAlbobjim I concur. I have always seen it as the deathbed confession (in a log book) of some old retired pirate, telling how he came to be in Tahiti or Mali or wherever. He tells about how he and his pirate pals, led by their charismatic captain, decided to retire from pirating and just "disappear," no doubt taking lots of booty with them. So they commandeered a ship, murdered everybody on board, and sailed off to "parts unknown" where the authorities will never find them. But then they got lost. Cuz they were in parts unknown. They were getting pretty desperate and so were very happy when they sighted land. They destroyed the ship to make sure nobody could ever leave (and thus could not rat on the others), and that no evidence of their crime exists. And they lived happily ever after.
@JimbobAlbobjim This is exactly how I hear the song. It's not about death but life after a long voyage. It's a song about reality, not Valhalla. All other interpretations wish it to be about the afterlife, but it is about this life, finding someplace amazing and existing there. That said, I think I'll use it at my funeral.
@JimbobAlbobjim This is exactly how I hear the song. It's not about death but life after a long voyage. It's a song about reality, not Valhalla. All other interpretations wish it to be about the afterlife, but it is about this life, finding someplace amazing and existing there. That said, I think I'll use it at my funeral.