Ships In Full Sail Lyrics

[John Mann talking about the song before playing it]
Thank you.
We're gonna do a song right now that...[whistle toot] uh, that I feel pretty good about.

[idle strumming/plucking/tuning of bass or guitar in the background]

This is kind of fun because my dad had written some poetry and he gave me a poem that I guess kind of expressed what had been happening in his life. And he gave me the poem and said "could you write some music for it?" And so I took it and wrote so basic music for it and brought it to the guys and they kinda helped...
[an odd discordant note is disapprovingly played on the bass in the background]
...yeah they helped a lot. We came up with this song and dad didn't give it to me with a name and we were fooling around with it one day and Geoff starting playing this jig "Ships in Full Sail" over top of the chords and it really worked out beautifully.

[John away from the mike] Thanks Geoff.
[Geoff into his mike] Your Welcome.

[They start playing the song]
Well I was sittin' by the shore
watchin' merchant seaman leave
the safety of their harbour
for the open reach of sea
and I reckoned that their life
was a ruthless one and lonely
and I contemplated only
it was here I'd rather be
so I rose and turned my back upon the sea

And then the metaphor took shape
in my mind a few days later
that the harbour was my history
and the sea a chance for change
That horizon beckoned me
[and when I stroked in that direction]?
I began to realize that it might be within my range
now I'm out here swimmin' in the waves of change

Now that horizon didn't seem
to be getting any closer
and it made me start to wonder
if it all might be in vain
then I began to understand
horizons don't get closer
rather you extend them further
every time you make some gains
so I keep on swimmin' in the waves of change
yes I keep on swimming in the waves of change
yes I keep on swimmin' in the waves of...
change