When the Ship Comes In

When the Ship Comes In is a fantastic song off the Album The Times Are a Changing. Another one of my favorite songs of Dylan. The song is basically about how people will eventually get what they deserve. Not only to people get what they deserve they get it bad and those around you wont care. The story of this song as I heard from a Joan Baez interview was that Dylan was once giving a hard time about staying in a hotel because of his look, Dylan was not famous as of yet. Once the incident was over he went upstairs and wrote the song in a matter of minutes. When listing to the song you can tell that it is a basic screw you. You can see the nerve it struck with Dylan because of the in depth description he gives of the demise of them. It is a great song and a great song to listen to when you really want to tell some screw you.

Oh the time will come up

When the winds will stop

And the breeze will cease to be breathin'

Like the stillness in the wind

'Fore the hurricane begins

The hours when the ship comes in.

And the seas will split

And the ship will hit

And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking

Then the tide will sound

And the wind will pound

And the morning will be breaking.

Oh the fishes will laugh

As they swim out of the path

And the seagulls they'll be smiling

And the rocks on the sand

Will proudly stand

The hour that the ship comes in.

And the words that are used

For to get the ship confused

Will not be understood as they're spoken

For the chains of the sea

Will have busted in the night

And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.

A song will lift

As the mainsail shifts

And the boat drifts on to the shoreline

And the sun will respect

Every face on the deck

The hour that the ship comes in.

Then the sands will roll

Out a carpet of gold

For your weary toes to be a-touchin'

And the ship's wise men

Will remind you once again

That the whole wide world is watchin'.

Oh the foes will rise

With the sleep in their eyes

And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'

But they'll pinch themselves and squeal

And know that it's for real

The hour that the ship comes in.

Then they'll raise their hands

Sayin' we'll meet all your demands

But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered

And like Pharaoh's tribe

They'll be drownded in the tide

And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.