08-18-2004, 03:12 PM
For whatever it's worth... one last time:
Nautical Disaster
The last words of a relationship meet the bone chilling screams of men left to die at sea. In perhaps the most chilling and poetic story The Tragically Hip have ever told, “Nautical Disaster” leaves the grizzly and heartless end of the Bismarck to rest on the shattered heart of our Everyman. The song uses the sinking of the ship, and the ruthless and inexcusable neglect shown to her condemned sailors, as a metaphor for a terrible break-up.
After having been discarded, disgraced and dealt a spirit-crushing blow from his former lover, our man finally falls asleep. He begins to dream, and finds himself as one of the unfortunate souls at sea as the Bismarck heads towards her final destination.
The German battleship Bismarck was laid down, ironically enough, on Canada Day, 1936. She was instantly the pride of the German fleet, and was one of many signs that the German government had no intention of following the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which forbade them to amass a fleet of war ships. The Bismarck was heavily armed, over 250 metres long, and quickly became the most feared vessel in the Atlantic. During her firs sustained battle of WWII, she sank the “unsinkable” British battleship Hood, and seriously damaged the battlecruiser Prince of Wales. Adolf Hitler, having paid a visit to the ship and her crew, made the Bismarck the undisputed #1 priority target of the Allies. Churchill was said to have made it a personal vendetta, he wanted the Bismarck sunk.
On May 26, 1941, at 49º 20' North, 21º 50' West, or put more succinctly: “Off the coast of France,” The Bismarck again met up with the British cruiser Prince of Wales, this time however, the PoW was accompanied by the Rodney, the King George V and sustained air strikes from the England. It was apparent that the Bismarck was in for the fight of her life. Having been made aware of the situation, Hitler is said to have made it clear that an escape was expected, the Bismarck could not go down, not under any circumstances.
The Bismarck began sustaining direct hits from torpedo, air and turret artillery fire at 8:47am, however she did not sink until 10:39am. One of her last dispatches was “Send U-boat for safe keeping of war diary!”
Her crew of over 4,000 dove, fell or simply sunk into the sea, those lucky enough to find lifeboats were able to stay afloat long enough to see the arrival of smaller German artillery, maintenance and rescue ships. Our dreamer found himself in one such “fortunate” situation. As most of the Bismarck’s crew lay dead or dying in the water, a disgraced Hitler gave the order to Grossadmiral Reader (The Supreme Comander of the German Navy) to neither approach the Bismarck nor offer her any help or rescue assistance of any kind. The German vessels that had previously approached the life boats and had already cast their life lines, had men clinging to their salvation while the sailors in life boats paddled feverishly towards the ships.
Following orders, the ships began to reel in their lines, pull away from the life boats, and leave their fellow countrymen to perish at sea. German sailors aboard the rescue ships were said to be haunted by the screams and pleas of their peers, and most chillingly, the sounds of their fingernails desperately clawing at the hulls of the fleeing ships.
At this terrible point, the dream is interrupted by a ringing phone: It’s her. She’s incoherent, apologetic and looking to reconcile.
As she continues to speak, visions of a nautical disaster remain fresh in his head. He realizes that infidelity and heart break are among the smallest of injustices and tragedies that take place everyday in the world. He knows that life hands out hell at times, but for all its sham, drudgery and broken promises: it’s still a wonderful world. Being heart broken sure beats being abandoned at sea.
After having been illuminated by a tragedy, with new perspective, our man realizes that sometimes you just have to be ruthless. He realizes that he’ll be better off if he just leaves her in his wake.
He interrupts her, “Anyway, Susan…” and tells her that she can keep talking, but at this point: her voice is like fingernails scratching on his hull.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bismarck info
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kbismarck.com/">http://www.kbismarck.com/</a><!-- m -->
Nautical Disaster
The last words of a relationship meet the bone chilling screams of men left to die at sea. In perhaps the most chilling and poetic story The Tragically Hip have ever told, “Nautical Disaster” leaves the grizzly and heartless end of the Bismarck to rest on the shattered heart of our Everyman. The song uses the sinking of the ship, and the ruthless and inexcusable neglect shown to her condemned sailors, as a metaphor for a terrible break-up.
After having been discarded, disgraced and dealt a spirit-crushing blow from his former lover, our man finally falls asleep. He begins to dream, and finds himself as one of the unfortunate souls at sea as the Bismarck heads towards her final destination.
The German battleship Bismarck was laid down, ironically enough, on Canada Day, 1936. She was instantly the pride of the German fleet, and was one of many signs that the German government had no intention of following the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which forbade them to amass a fleet of war ships. The Bismarck was heavily armed, over 250 metres long, and quickly became the most feared vessel in the Atlantic. During her firs sustained battle of WWII, she sank the “unsinkable” British battleship Hood, and seriously damaged the battlecruiser Prince of Wales. Adolf Hitler, having paid a visit to the ship and her crew, made the Bismarck the undisputed #1 priority target of the Allies. Churchill was said to have made it a personal vendetta, he wanted the Bismarck sunk.
On May 26, 1941, at 49º 20' North, 21º 50' West, or put more succinctly: “Off the coast of France,” The Bismarck again met up with the British cruiser Prince of Wales, this time however, the PoW was accompanied by the Rodney, the King George V and sustained air strikes from the England. It was apparent that the Bismarck was in for the fight of her life. Having been made aware of the situation, Hitler is said to have made it clear that an escape was expected, the Bismarck could not go down, not under any circumstances.
The Bismarck began sustaining direct hits from torpedo, air and turret artillery fire at 8:47am, however she did not sink until 10:39am. One of her last dispatches was “Send U-boat for safe keeping of war diary!”
Her crew of over 4,000 dove, fell or simply sunk into the sea, those lucky enough to find lifeboats were able to stay afloat long enough to see the arrival of smaller German artillery, maintenance and rescue ships. Our dreamer found himself in one such “fortunate” situation. As most of the Bismarck’s crew lay dead or dying in the water, a disgraced Hitler gave the order to Grossadmiral Reader (The Supreme Comander of the German Navy) to neither approach the Bismarck nor offer her any help or rescue assistance of any kind. The German vessels that had previously approached the life boats and had already cast their life lines, had men clinging to their salvation while the sailors in life boats paddled feverishly towards the ships.
Following orders, the ships began to reel in their lines, pull away from the life boats, and leave their fellow countrymen to perish at sea. German sailors aboard the rescue ships were said to be haunted by the screams and pleas of their peers, and most chillingly, the sounds of their fingernails desperately clawing at the hulls of the fleeing ships.
At this terrible point, the dream is interrupted by a ringing phone: It’s her. She’s incoherent, apologetic and looking to reconcile.
As she continues to speak, visions of a nautical disaster remain fresh in his head. He realizes that infidelity and heart break are among the smallest of injustices and tragedies that take place everyday in the world. He knows that life hands out hell at times, but for all its sham, drudgery and broken promises: it’s still a wonderful world. Being heart broken sure beats being abandoned at sea.
After having been illuminated by a tragedy, with new perspective, our man realizes that sometimes you just have to be ruthless. He realizes that he’ll be better off if he just leaves her in his wake.
He interrupts her, “Anyway, Susan…” and tells her that she can keep talking, but at this point: her voice is like fingernails scratching on his hull.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bismarck info
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kbismarck.com/">http://www.kbismarck.com/</a><!-- m -->