Comments: 58

• Courtney from Nj, NjHere. Have a line by line song analysis that i did for a school project.
  
  1. We sent out the SOS call.
  They called out for help.
  2. It was a quarter past four in the morning when the storm broke our second anchor line.
  Whatever they are calling out for help because of has happened, probably a fight, that made them become less steady and things become rocky, we assume for the second time.
  3. Four months at sea, four months of calm seas to be pounded in the shallows off the tip of Montauk Point.
  Montauk Point is the easternmost point of Long Island, New York. You can then make an assumption that it's about someone in the band because they originated from Long Island. Also, you can assume that the "four months at sea, four months of calm seas to be pounded..." would be referring to a journey or some kind of relationship that is having some problems after about four months and the "waters are beginning to get rough".
  4. They call them rogues, they travel fast and alone
  5. One-hundred-foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong.
  This is a reference to how something that is supposed to be calming and peaceful, such as the ocean, can also bring sorrow when the something isn't right.
  6. What they call love is a risk, cause you will always get hit out of nowhere by some wave and end up on your own.
  Basically, here is where it becomes clear that the writer is comparing love to the ocean. He feels that love is always a risk of getting hurt, and the wave that he talks about in the lyrics is a metaphor for the wave of sadness that washes over you when you realize that you no longer have the relationship and you feel, essentially, on your own.
  7. The hole in the hull defied the crews attempts to bail us out.
  This is the writer stating that everything inside of him wanted to fix the relationship.
  8. And flooded the engines and radio and half buried bow.
  Even though the intent to fix the relationship (the boat) is there, the waters are too rough for them and they eventually decide that the relationship is just going to continue sinking until it hits rock bottom.
  9. Your tongue is a rudder.
  10. It steers the whole ship.
  11. Sends your words passed your lips or keeps them safe behind your teeth.
  In lines 9-11, the comparison between a tongue and a rudder is being made.
  12. But the wrong words will strand you.
  13. Come off course while you sleep.
  14. Sweep your boat out to sea or dashed to bits on the reef.
  Lines 12-14 explain the importance of watching what you say because the wrong words will make you "drift from your usual course" and possibly make you "crash your ship" and become stranded with no way around your fate.
  15. The vessel groans.
  The writer feels like the relationship (ship) is starting to dissipate.
  16. The ocean pressures its frame.
  The people in the relationship feel the pressure to work things out and to try to make things better.
  17. To the port I see the lighthouse through the sleet and the rain.
  This line states that the journey may be okay. The lighthouse is essentially "the light at the end of the tunnel" for them and that there may be a hope of everything turning out alright.
  18. And I wish for one more day to give my love and repay debts.
  He wished for one more day to be in love and to return whatever he feels like he owes to this person. (We can, by now, assume that it's a past love of his).
  19. But the morning finds our bodies washed up thirty miles west.
  Despite the efforts or the fact that he wants to try to work it out, the two fall into the "rough waters" where they separate and try to make it to "the shore" as alive and in-one-piece as possible.
  20. They say that the captain stays fast with the ship through still and storm.
  Here, he's referring to the saying "the captain always sinks with his ship", no matter what.
  21. But this ain't the Dakota, and the water is cold.
  This line refers to the kind of state (water) that the relationship is in. He feels that it's cold and no longer the warm and loving one that either of them are used to.
  22. Won't have to fight for long.
  They don't have to fight off these feelings anymore.
  23. This is the end.
  The relationship is finally ending.
  24. This story's old but it goes on and on until we disappear.
  The story of love and heartbreak is as old as time and will continue on until the end of each of their lives.
  25. Calm me and let me taste the salt you breathed while you were underneath.
  To me, this is where he says let me take the pain away from you.
  26. I am the one who haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the sea.
  I took this as he has some guilt towards the things that may have been said or done during the relationship and he knows that it probably still affects her from how upset she was when they last spoke.
  27. I know that this is what you want.
  She probably wanted to or suggested that the relationship end in the first place.
  28. A funeral keeps both of us apart.
  This doesn't literally mean a physical death. Just the death or the ending of the relationship.
  29. You know that you are not alone.
  He's basically telling her that she's not alone in her sadness because he feels it too.
  30. Need you like water in my lungs.
  To me, he's saying something along the lines of, "no matter what, I'll always love you". He just phrases it different. With these words, I believe he is trying to express that even if it kills him, much like water in his lungs would, a part of him is always going to love her.
  31. This is the end.
  Again, end of the relationship, end of the song.
• M from Los Angeles, CaThis song is about a relationship ending which both people still love each other, but have caused each other too much pain for it to work out. It is the reality that their relationship has sunk, even though they don't want it to. Things have been said that can't be taken back (your tongue is a rudder). The love and hurt will never end until they both disappear. The "I know this is what you want, a funeral keeps both of us apart, you know you are not alone, need you like water in my lungs" is because he recognizes that she wants the pain to end, but he does too. The "water in my lungs: is because the relationship is toxic to both of them---but they can't let it go unless one of them is gone permanently. "Never to see any other way" is the last line, because there is nothing that can allow them to be together. Pain & love all mixed together. Love this song!
• Tim from Lodi, NjThis is all strictly my opinion...
  
  I take this song a little more literally. I believe much of this song is about the story of the fishermen who lost their lives during the actual events of "The Perfect Storm." The Andrea Gail sailed out of Gloucester Massachusetts but got caught in a super storm off the southern coast of Long Island. Jesse has written other songs about tragedies from Long Island, as in Limosinr.
  
  I also feel that the line "This ain't the Dakota, the waters so cold" is mistakenly referenced to the hotel where John Lennon was shot. An apartment complex really doesn't fit the theme of the story. Instead of it being read as The Dakota (the apartments) I feel it is the "Dakota". The Dakota was a ship built in 1903 for trade purposes with China and Japan
  and sunk in 1904 when it struck a reef off of Yokohama.
  
  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Dakota
  
  The line states that perhaps the crew would have been luckier aboard the Dakota being as at the time it sunk the water would have been warmer in the Pacific ocean than the colder stormier Atlantic.
  
  Again this is just my interpretation of the song but feel free to evaluate further.
• Spenser from Denver, Cobrand new is not defined as a christian band, however jesse was raised very religious and he has said in concert that the devil and god are raging inside me, is a literal thing. that he struggles with following in his faith because he is not sure what is real or not. being religious has led to a lot of the bands lyrics.
• Alex from New York, Nyreasons i like Brand New: im from Long Island, my teacher is friends with Jesse, and i love the fact that he mentions parts of LI in his lyrics
• Nate from Fair Grove, MoBrand New is no christian band. If someone named a song, "Jesus Christ," but it was about how they don't belive in him, does that warrant a christian label? It's common fact that Jesse Lacey grew up in a christian environment, but those songs that reference god or jesus have strong undertones of hisfaith becoming something of question. The references he makes otherwise are just a product of his bringing-up, not something saying, "look at me! we're a christian band!"
• Sarah from Toronto, OnSorry for being a douche and putting like 20 comments. My computer effed up and I couldn't see them so I thought it didn't post..
• Sarah from Toronto, OnWhat I mean to say is that Jesse basically wrote a metaphor for his life of being on tour surrounded by guys while managing a relationship back at home.
• Sarah from Toronto, OnI was meaning more or less to say that Jesse wanted to find something so close to his life, but mask with poetic way of saying it. Thus, he found the perfect way- the fisherman and the boats were just a metaphor for himself and his band and being on tour while having a relationship.
• Sarah from Toronto, OnI was meaning more or less to say that Jesse wanted to find something so close to his life, but mask with poetic way of saying it. Thus, he found the perfect way- the fisherman and the boats were just a metaphor for himself and his band and being on tour while having a relationship.
• Sarah from Toronto, OnI apologise firstly because this will be a long message, but will hopefully shed light or a new view to some people. These are all my own opinions and observations.
  
  I took this song a little more literally that most of you. I took it as it was for the most part with being at sea and the sailor leaving his family (i.e his wife) (to mattyb, the burg, MD- they mention a crew in the song so you assume it's a fishing boat- and it's traditionally said that women are bad luck on boats of that nature). I always thought it had something to do with the fact that Jesse can so easily relate to these fishermen leaving for months at a time, while he leaves for months at a time while on tour.
  
  I took the relationship part of the song to be in reference more to the spouses left behind while the other leaves. "I know that this is what you want, a funeral keeps both of us apart." to me meant that the person left behind would almost start to want the other to die at sea just because then they wouldn't be the ones having to wait around and wasting their lives away while their other half is off somewhere. Still lacking the courage to end it.
  
  "You know that you are not alone" Means that the one left behind isn't the only one that's feeling the strain on the relationship and the battles that come with the distance for so long.
  
  "I need you like water in my lungs." is the echoed bitterness that the relationship has to end and does end. Until finally, not because there were any other issues, but simply because of the time and distance it had to end.
  
  
  And to Ashleigh, Pittsburgh, PA- they do have MANY spiritual refferences, but Brand New still claim that they are not a christian band, and that you don't have to be christian to be spiritual. But if you ask me, having a song named Jesus Christ...
  
• Sarah from D.c., DcThe line about the Dakota is a reference to the SS Dakota which was a US ship that hit a reef and sunk off the coast of Japan. It was close to shore and there were no fatalities. He is saying that this situation is not like that, no one will live vs. everyone getting out safely.
• Jul from Pittsburgh, Pain response to mike, menands, NY:: i thought the exact same thing regarding the beatles "a day in the life" the first time i heard this song! i was wondering if anyone else ever made the connection to the "never could see any other way" line at the end of this song and at the end of "a day in the life" by the beatles. its crazy. maybe jesse just wanted to mess with us and see if we caught it :] or maybe its not that at all lol
• Tyler from Denver, CoWell, this song's title comes from Lacey's friend yelling,"Play Crack the Sky!" During a concert they went to. However, I don't know if that has much to do with the song. In my opinion, I don't think this song is really about a break up, I believe it is moreover about the fragility of relationships, emotions, and the overall frailness of life. I'm not sure, but in my opinion that is what the song is about. This brings up the lyrics,"The tongue is the rudder that steers the whole ship, sends the words past your lips, etc..." I believe this further portrays the fragility of relationships. This seems to state that your words steer and control all of who you are and what others think about and react to you. Anyways that seems to be what the song is conveying in my opinion.
• Ashleigh from Pittsburgh, Pawhoever said Jesse is not spiritual in his writings is obviously misinformed. They're known to be a Christian band, making many spiritual references in their songs.
• Victor from Harpursville, Nyto Tom in Atlanta
  decodum is a latin word translating to:
  a spendthrift, bankrupt, a fool parted from his money.
  I'm not sure if that's the intended meaning but that's the only sense of the word that i can make of it...
• Emily from Memphis, Tn"your tounge is a rudder... it steers the whole ship, sends your words past your lips and keeps them safe behind your teeth, but the wrong words will strnd you and come off course while you sleep, sweep your boat out to sea, or dash to bits on the reef"
  I love that. insinuating, pretty much, that she was a lifeline. it was all a movie, and she was the director. whatever she said, whatever she wanted to happen, happened. she wasn't aware of it.
• Samantha from Sapulpa, Okthis is a heartbreak song. sometimes when you break up you dont want the other person to know how much you really need or want them. my favorite line of the entire song is NEED YOU LIKE WATER IN MY LUNGS. it fits my situation perfectly. i really dont need you
• Tony from St. Paul, Mnhah, these comments are somewhat funny, an earlier poster Casey noted that he describes what this song means at his shows and he told a similar story that she mentioned but the crowd was yelling so it was hard to hear. From what I recall at the concert he said it was about his group of friends in the woods and they ended up running into someone who was injured and it ended up being a somewhat dangerous situation that they had to get out of.
• Chelsea from Poughkeepsie , NyThe dakota is the apartement building where john lennon was murdered. he refrences that when he says, "this aint the dakota, the water's cold... won't have to fight for long."
• Doug from Darien, Ctjesse uses the ship symbolism multiple times throughout his album, or some sort of vessel crashing, and drowning is a constant theme.
  Im begining to think that this song may be more literal than i thought
• Tess from Vernal, UtIn the song it says "Sends your words past your lips
  Or keeps them safe behind your teeth". I just thought it was interesting because the song is talking about a sinking ship and there is a saying that "loose lips sink ships"
• Tom from Atlanta, GaDoes anyone have any idea what "the decodum" is?
  The line reads something like, "this ain't the decodum the waters cold (so cold)" I thought it was Dakota maybe like a ship but appearently not.
• Tony from Carmel, InAnyone that says this has something to do with Jesse's wife dying is completely erroneous. Jesse has never been married, nor had children.
  
  Secondly, the song is CLEARLY about a doomed relationship told through the metaphor of a sinking ship.
  
  Thirdly, "I need you like water in my lungs" is him realizing he truly doesn't need her, and is why he repeats "This is the end".
  
  "A funeral keeps both of us apart" is meaning that the only way to truly get over the relationship is death.
  
  This song has nothing to do with sailors not returning home or anything of the sort.
  
  The references to the Bible should be taken with a grain of salt and may very well be just coincidences, Jesse is not a very spiritual person, atleast in his song writing.
• Jamie from Northampton, Englandon another note, the "this story is old, but it goes on" is a line from "last night i dreamt that somebody loves me" by the smiths...jesse just loves his connections...
• Aj from Sheboygan, WiI agree that it is about a relationship - but it is metaphorically hidden. But the line "the captains stays staffed with the ship" (or something resembling that, sorry, cant memorize it) i believe is reference to loyalty to something / someone else, like the band. Think about it... touring / recording and being on the orad takes away from your personal life. So the 'ship' is the band and if they 'sink' he does too, because he loves music and he loves his band.
  
• Patrick from Franklin, Maok the song is contradicting its self about a guy who misses a girl but knows he doesnt need her because she's no good for him. throughout the song it shows that he has been away from her and in the end its shows him coming to realize he doesnt need here (i need you like water in my lungs)
• Casey from Linden, MiI don't know if this is true, because Jesse has been known to say that songs have different meanings at different shows, but what he said when he came to my state was that this song was about when he had to go to summer camp as a kid and one of the camp counselers went crazy and made the kids do dangerous things and jesse and some other kids stole a boat in the middle of the night and escaped to the town across the lake.
• Dylan from Baltimore, MdThe song "Sea Epic" by Crack The Sky seems to me like a counterpart to this song. At least that's where the title may have come from.
• Brooke from Portland, OrRemember his wife died
  A funeral keeps both of us apart. (she is dead hes not)
  You know that you are not alone.
  Need you like water in my lungs. (the only way to see her is if he dies too, water in his lungs would kill him)
• Frankstallone from Philadelphia, Paa quick question about the "you tougue is a rudder " part some people on this page claim it is out of the book of james verses 4-5 ..the following taken out of the book of james verses 4-5 ..i'm just wondering where you see it ??? "4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
• Charlene from Maryville, Tnthis is my absolute favorite BN song, and by far one of the saddest songs i have ever heard.
• Nadia from T-town, Njmy interpretation is along the same lines
  it's about the girl letting go
  and about how despreately the boy wants to
  but he can't
  he says things he doesn't mean
  "i need you like water in my lungs"
  but in the truth he does need her
  and he's finding no matter how hard he trys
  he can't right his wrongs
  it makes him sick of depression
  the girl is ignoring his attempt to save them
  he knows that the story will go on till the both die
  or drown
  the storys old it happens at the end of every serious relationship
  one wants to save it
  the other wants to move on
  i think he thinks that he'll get her in the end
  "we won't have to fight for long"
  but he knows his and her words have been misinterpreted bt each other
  "Your tongue is a rudder.
  It steers the whole ship.
  Sends your words past your lips or keeps them safe behind your teeth.
  But the wrong words will strand you.
  Come off course while you sleep. "
  it reminds me of going to sleep and trying to figure out what my ex meant and if he really meant what he said.
  but all in all
  the story ends
  with him moving on
  i don't think theres a beatles connection
  when I fought with me ex i found i used lines fromsongs not on purpose.
  maybe jesses just adding another line that isn't his
  
• Damon from Seeley Lake, MtThis song is about a doomed relationship and the protagonist wasn't ready for it to end... he is still struggling with what he could have done better in the relationship and the regretting the hurtful things he did ("tongue is a rudder that") ... he knows that its futile but he still trying to repair it... that is why he uses the metaphor of a sinking ship... she abandoned ship long ago while he "staffed the ship" to the end and even though he's sunk and is going to die he's still struggling for breath ("i need you like water in my lungs")
• Daniel from Orange, Ca"I need you like water in my lungs" means that he doesnt need her, because no one need water in their lungs. the song also speaks about holding your tongue, watch what you say "the wrong words will strand you, come off course while you sleep."
• Chris from T-dot, CanadaThis song has been explained to crowds at Breand New Shows and is said to be about they were with another band on a boat and the ship started to sink.
• Tabath from London, Englandwell, i have always been told that the song is about when Jesse's wife died and he went away for a while on boat.
  Hed left the kids with his mum and gone off for a few months to deal with his grief, one night there was a strom and the boat he was on got shipwrecked, it talks about how wen he was floating in the sea he contemplated dying till he realised how he still had to tell people he loved them and he was needed, he was in the sea for a few hours before washing up on the beach against all odds, realistically it was how he came to terms with how much he missed her but how much he needed to carryon.
• Biabia from Op, IlI think the "need you like water in my lungs is kind of a double representation because if you have water in your lungs youll drown but if you have no water at all in your body you will die
  im not good with biology and body composition and all that thats just my view though
• Stephen from Houston, TxI think it is a little more melancholy... than just love. I think maybe they were in love and out of the blue had a fall out. Getting hit by a rogue wave symbolizes the end. Knowing that he wont survive makes him notice how much he took for granted. To me though the line "Need you like water in my lungs" doesnt exactly sound happy... also "I know what this is what you want, a funeral keeps both of us apart" It seems he still has hard feelings... that the heartless girl would welcome a funeral because he is completely out of her life... so he doesnt want any part of her... needing her is like wanting to drown...
• Faith from Las Vegas, Nvthis song isnt about just ship wrecks...he writes about off the shore from new york and east coastish...about the sailers who dont return home. its for them .
• Greg from San Luis Obispo, CaYou can't predict when a storm is going to sink a ship. You also can't predict when a relationship will go wrong. They come out of nowhere and you can never tell how much damage they will bring you. Got hit by a storm only 4 months in, and caught him offgaurd. I think many of us can relate.
• Mattyb from The Burg, MdTo Taylor:
  "I know that this is what you want.
  A funeral keeps both of us apart.
  You know that you are not alone."
  
  I think this pertains to the literal take on the song being about a shipwreck. 2 lovers die at sea, but they die together, in each others arms. they know they are not alone. sad, poetic and makes me cry. =) great song
• Mike from Menands, Nybrand new is my favorite band, so ive listened to a lot of there music very closely.. at the end of 'play crack the sky' jesse lacey seems to drop the mic and pauses for a minute, then says 'never could see any other way' and it sounds like he leaves the room. this is after the song ends and before the track ends. if you have ever listened to the beatles carefully, you will hear the same 'never could see any other way' repeated over and over after a long pause at the end of 'a day in the life' off of sgt peppers lonely hearts club band album.. can anyone make the connection? please reply
  
• Ryan from Botwood, Canadain the book of James in the new testament i found a few things there about a ship including, as Zak from Gainsville said, the line "your tongue is a rudder"... what do you all think?
• Nicky from Bournemoth, EnglandI like the theme about being careful what you say as it can all turn out ruined in the end. We dont appreciate things until its too late: "and i wish for one more day to give my love and repay debts, but the morning finds our bodies washed up thirty miles west." He also says that love can be painful: "what they call love is a risk, 'cause you'll always get hit out of nowhere by some wave and end up on your own" you have to give a lot to it and it can end up destroying you.
  
  
• Pedro from Boston, MaThis is in response to Jon from Miame regarding the line where he says "I need you like water in my lungs".
  
  He's referring to how he needs her just as bad as he wants to end his own life. Probably wanting to end his life because he is without her.
• Jon from Miami, TxWhat the hell does "I need you like water in my lungs" mean!
  
  Nobody needs water in their lungs so he's saying he doesn'tneed her?
  
  Isn't the song abouthim needing her?
  
  Someone please explain. Or at least acknowledge.
• Brittany from Rocky Grove, Pawell..I agree with everyone so far, about it being about love, and the couples loss of love, and one of them cant let go, I agree that "a funeral keeps us apart" signifies that the person whom cant let go, hopes that in the end, they will be together, but only to some extent..I dont think this song is only about love..I think, it also focuses on how we all, take advantage of what we have, until its about to be to late and then all we wanna do is right our wrongs..I think it also is telling us that, things happen suddenly, so dont take advantage of your days, and that includes, not taking advantage of any one day you could love your someone
• Mike from Lake Saint Louis, Mono it doesnt.... the line about the funeral symbolizes the The end of the relationship and knowing it is truely over, has nothing to do with seeing each other in the afterlife
• Jessica from Long Island, Ny"Play Crack the Sky" is about the light house and how the light shines through the rain and that symbolizes a glimmer of hope for the relationship to get better.
• Taylor from Burleson, TxWhat do yall guys think the line "A funeral keeps both of us apart" would refer to...
  - Rene, San Antonio, TX
  
  This song is about the relstionship going bad, and one or the other cannot live with it being over. The guy in the story kill himself ( rember the line "they say that the captin stays staffed with the ship"). A funeral keeps both of us apart means they will reunite after she dies, leaving hope that mabey they were ment to be after all.
• Nicole from Vernon, NyI absolutely love this song it is awesome!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Especially when he says... This story's old but it goes on and on....etc.
• Haley from Grenada, MsResponse to Rene: In my mind, that line has always refered to like... a funeral for the love that they couldn't save, but neither can attend for the loss of feeling there.
• Rene from San Antonio, TxWhat do yall guys think the line "A funeral keeps both of us apart" would refer to...
• Carlos from Mexico City, MexicoJesse commented on an interview in IMX that this was his favorite song out of every song BN has ever written... Just thought you might want to know...
• Zak from Ganisville, Flthe metaphor "your tounge is a rudder" is out of the book of james in the bible verses 4-5
• Claire from South Portland, MeThis song is amazing, I love the metaphor in the middle...
  
  "your tounge is a rudder.. it steers the whole ship, sends your words past your lips and keeps them safe behind your teeth, but the wrong words will strnd you and come off course while you sleep, sweep your boat out to sea, or dash to bits on the reef"
  
  I means watch what you are saying or it could destroy and you wreck everything you worked for.
• Jessica from Gahanna, Ohcrack the sky is a band... so does the title have anything to do with this? hmmmmm

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