Thank You for Hearing Me: The Definitive Sinéad O'Connor Discography

The Definitive Sinéad O'Connor Discography

Discography*Songs*Artists*Credits

“Ship Ahoy”

by Marxman

10 versions

7:26

33 Revolutions Per Minute album
“45 RPM” promo EP

4:38

“Ship Ahoy” single
33 Revolutions Per Minute album

4:01 edit

also the video version

“Ship Ahoy” single

7:25 FullMix

“Ship Ahoy” single

6:17 acoustic mix

“Ship Ahoy” single

7:26 full instrumental

“Ship Ahoy” single

4:07 BS2 remix

“Ship Ahoy” single

5:37 Spartan mix

“Ship Ahoy” single

5:41 Black Star Line remix

“Ship Ahoy” single

? Black Star Line version

“Ship Ahoy” single

Lyrics

(Source: LyricWiki)

A thousand cultures, stolen ships that came sailing,
Sighted from the shoreline, people stood waiting.
But armies came invading and raiding to conquer,
Understood nothing of a land that stood longer.
But might was much stronger than right could ever be,
Took away the land planned a new destiny.
Butchery and murder, and still I say murder,
Butchery and murder, and still I say murder.
Wait! Hold up 'cause Phrase will break the mould.
Culture growing stronger, aging, never old.
Death accelerating, and I don't want to die.
Fish hooked by a ship, Lord, take me where I lie.
Gone where the lucky ones, disease or suicide,
The pride of survivors to cry for those that died,
To resurrect the status and overcome the ploy,
No bells or beads to barter for this young black boy.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Gone are the days, now the ships cease to sail.
I don't think so - what does a wage entail?
Nine to five slavery or a twenty four seven?
Most slaves tricked by the promise of a heaven.
Controlled by the sound of a whip that goes sack,
Mind-forged manacles make sure there's no slack.
Think you're not a slave, 'cause no whip marks your back?
Now a bureaucrat wields the nine tails of the cat.
Ain't nothing changed but the weather; the song remains the same.
Hollis comes left set up upon the Lamebrain.
You can't tame the beast, the beast can't be changed.
Have to smash the system, wisdom rearranged.
Slavery claimed to be history's mystery.
Wished it could be - it's still part of we.
Search and look around - my birthplace is torn,
But England has fallen; dusk negates dawn.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Ship ahoy, ship ahoy, now they call it perestroika.
Mandela's free but still can't stop the slaughter.
Now they call it free trade, free choice for all,
But the real freedom is ten per cent small.
Freedom is a song which the caged bird sings.
They keep the key all we see is the keyring.
Fooled by the glisten, but the glisten is not gold,
And I will not buy the beads that I'm sold.
I stand here stand clear, truth be my witness.
How many Hitlers before you see the litmus?
Test I won't rest, slave who won't behave,
And no I want not the freedom of the slave.
If the East wants the beast, let the beast roam.
'Cause in the East the death of the beast was sown.
You can fool the people that they're equal,
But you won't fool me with a sequel.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Ship ahoy.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Don't let my children die.
Don't let my children die.
Lord, take me where I lie, don't let my children die.
Don't let my children die.
Children;
Don't let my children die.
Children;
Don't let my children die.
Children.

Notes

But armies came invading and raiding to conquer:

Especially the Vikings and the English; c.f. "Irish Ways and Irish Laws."

Gone where the lucky ones, disease or suicide:

A reference to the casualties of Great Famine's--the ones that didn't emigrate often died of disease and starvation.

beads to barter:

American Indians were often given beads, which were worth practically nothing to Westerners, in exchange for their lands.

black boy:

Probably refers both to black slavery, as well as to Roddy Doyle's famous quote from The Commitments, "The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin."

nine tails of the cat:

A type of short whip, so named because it has multiple strands, often ending in spiked balls.

dusk negates dawn:

At the height of England's empire, its reach was so vast that it was said that the sun never set on it.

perestroika:

Russian for "restructuring," referring to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms that led the Soviet Union from a communist state to a democratic one, starting in the late 1980s. Marxman clearly doesn't agree that perestroika's reforms are for the better.

Mandela:

Nelson Mandela (b. 1918), a South African anti-apartheid activist who was jailed for 27 years on charges of sabotage, freed in 1990, and served as the first post-apartheid President of South Africa.

song which the caged bird sings:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography about overcoming racism.

Videos and Sound Clips

Alphabetically
Previous song: “She's So Beautiful” Next song: “The Shores of the Swilly (feat. Sinéad O'Connor)”

All artwork, lyrics, and liner notes are copyrighted by their respective owners. Every effort is made to properly attribute copyrighted content, when known. Everything else © copyright Jason R Tibbetts 2007-2023. All rights reserved.

Questions, comments, or corrections? Email me at jason@tibbetts.net.