Wooden Ships
Encyclopedia
"Wooden Ships" is a rock
song written and composed by David Crosby
, Stephen Stills
and Paul Kantner
(of Jefferson Airplane
) in the late 1960s. The song was written and composed in Florida
on Crosby's boat. Crosby composed the music, and Stills and Kantner wrote most of the lyrics.
due to legal issues, but he is thus officially credited on the 2006 re-release. The song was also released by Jefferson Airplane the same year on the album Volunteers
. Both versions are considered to be original versions of the song, although they differ slightly in wording and melody.
Crosby recorded a solo demo in March 1968 with the melody but no lyrics. Stills recorded his own demo the following month with most of the lyrics in place.
, a time of great tension between the United States
and the Soviet Union
, nuclear-armed rivals in the Cold War
.
's "We Will All Go Together When We Go" and Barry McGuire
's "Eve of Destruction," the song seems to deal with ever-present fears of an apocalyptic
nuclear war
. In this interpretation, the words of the song depict the horrors confronting the survivors of a nuclear holocaust
in which the two sides have annihilated each other. A man from one side stumbles upon a man from the other side and asks him, "Can you tell me, please, who won?" Since the question has no real meaning in the circumstances (or even at all), it is left unanswered. To stay alive, they share purple berries that have presumably not been poisoned by radiation. The lyrics beg "silver people on the shoreline" to "let us be"; these are commonly held to be men wearing radiation suits. As wooden ships are carrying the survivors away, radiation poisoning kills those who have not made it aboard:
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
song written and composed by David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
and Paul Kantner
Paul Kantner
Paul Lorin Kantner is an American rock musician, known for co-founding the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane and its spin-off band Jefferson Starship.- Overview :...
(of Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
) in the late 1960s. The song was written and composed in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
on Crosby's boat. Crosby composed the music, and Stills and Kantner wrote most of the lyrics.
Background
Paul Kantner could not be officially credited as one of the joint authors-composers of "Wooden Ships" on the original release of Crosby, Stills & NashCrosby, Stills & Nash (album)
Crosby, Stills & Nash is the first album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, released in 1969 on the Atlantic Records label. It spawned two Top 40 hits, "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," which peaked respectively at #28 the week of August 23, 1969, and at #21 the week of October 25, 1969, on...
due to legal issues, but he is thus officially credited on the 2006 re-release. The song was also released by Jefferson Airplane the same year on the album Volunteers
Volunteers (Jefferson Airplane album)
-Personnel:*Grace Slick – vocals, piano on "The Farm", "Hey Fredrick", "Eskimo Blue Day", and "Volunteers", organ on "Meadowlands", recorder on "Eskimo Blue Day"*Paul Kantner – vocals, rhythm guitar*Marty Balin – vocals, percussion...
. Both versions are considered to be original versions of the song, although they differ slightly in wording and melody.
Crosby recorded a solo demo in March 1968 with the melody but no lyrics. Stills recorded his own demo the following month with most of the lyrics in place.
Timing
"Wooden Ships" was written at the height of the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, a time of great tension between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, nuclear-armed rivals in the Cold War
Cold War (1962-1979)
The Cold War refers to the phase within the Cold War that spanned the period between the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis in late October 1962, through the détente period beginning in 1969, to the end of détente in the late 1970s.The U.S...
.
Interpretations
Like Tom LehrerTom Lehrer
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
's "We Will All Go Together When We Go" and Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
's "Eve of Destruction," the song seems to deal with ever-present fears of an apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. In this interpretation, the words of the song depict the horrors confronting the survivors of a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
in which the two sides have annihilated each other. A man from one side stumbles upon a man from the other side and asks him, "Can you tell me, please, who won?" Since the question has no real meaning in the circumstances (or even at all), it is left unanswered. To stay alive, they share purple berries that have presumably not been poisoned by radiation. The lyrics beg "silver people on the shoreline" to "let us be"; these are commonly held to be men wearing radiation suits. As wooden ships are carrying the survivors away, radiation poisoning kills those who have not made it aboard:
- Horror grips us as we watch you die
- All we can do is echo your anguished cries
- Stare as all human feelings die