And the words that are used for to get the ship confused will not be understood as they're spoken

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And they'll know that it's for real
The hour that the ship comes in.

Then they'll raise their hands
Saying 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.

When The Ship Comes In (1964)


You know when you can't stop playing the same song over and over, and you think you'll never get bored of it becasue it's so rich and beautiful and exciting. Well, at the moment, I'm like that about Bob Dylan's 'When The Ship Comes In' from The Times They Are A-Changin'. Above is written the final verse of said song, which I think is wonderful. My favourite line is 'But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered'. It's so defiant, as is the entire song, but the way he phrases 'numbered' feels like he's poured all his anger into this one line. It's wonderful. All the more wonderful, because it was written after a clerk in a hotel snubbed him when he tried to pick up the booking for Joan Baez's room. Of course, I can imagine Bob looked a bit scruffy, and when he entered the hotel saying 'Does Joan Baez have a room here?', they were a bit suspicious. Little did they know she was waiting out in the car and had sent Bob in to see if they'd got the right hotel.