Ship of Fools Lyrics

Reinhard Mey, The Ship of Fools - 1998

A sea shanty


The mercury's falling, all signs point to storm
Bitching and giggling is heard from the helm
A dull grinding sound comes up from the machine.

To pounding and rolling and heavy seas
The deck orchestra plays "Nearer to Thee"
And crazed laughter rings out from the latrine.

The cargo is rotten, its papers are faked
The bulkheads block, and the bilgepumps leak
All hatches wide open, alarm bells are a-ringing.

The seas roll in, man high, down the hold
St. Elmo's fire flickers from the derrick yard
But no one on board is able to see what's coming.

[Chorus]

The helmsman's lying, the captain's a junky
The engineer's lost in his lethargy
And the crew, all villains on perjury,
Won't send SOS, they're too cowardly
On the ship of fools that a Hobgoblin steers
Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


Sheet lightning afar: the signs o' the times!
Wickedness and pettiness and vanity blinds
Those fools on the bridge, and the simple minded.

In muddied waters, the sharp-toothed shark
Is landing his catch, to bypass the tax
On the Sand Bank, a well known treasure island.

Where money-cleaners wait, together with pimps,
Slotmachine barons and brothel kings
In broad daylight, no one needs to be hiding.

In a banana republic, where even the president
Without scruples, or shame, likes to decorate
Himself with tax thiefs in his following.

[Chorus]

The helmsman's lying, the captain's a junky
The engineer's lost in his lethargy
And the crew, all villains on perjury,
Won't send SOS, they're too cowardly
On the ship of fools that a Hobgoblin steers
Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


All is made up, and all is arranged
Once high ideals irrefutably damaged
And the big rebel, who never got tired of fighting...

Mutates to a servile, poisonous gnome
And sings lamely for the old man in Rome
His songs; indeed: "The Times they are a-Changing"

Once young savages have all become tame
Narcotized, bought, obedient and lame
They have traded sharp claws for a pair of velvet paws

And vain old men boldly show themselves
With far too young women on the upper shelves
Who strengthen limp limbs and chew for toothless jaws.

[Chorus]

The helmsman's lying, the captain's a junky
The engineer's lost in his lethargy
And the crew, all villains on perjury,
Won't send SOS, they're too cowardly
On the ship of fools that a Hobgoblin steers
Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


Look out for the enemy! But the enemy's inside,
His arm's round your throat, coming up from behind
Protected by laws, he plays with his own marked cards.

They all look away, though everyone can see
And evil men, without cover, and impunity
Sell drugs, right in front of the kindergarten.

The lookout on the mast cries: End times are near!
But they're all as if petrified, they don't want to hear
Like lemmings, they run in a willingless horde.

It is as if they all have lost their mind
Conspiring with the others to decay and decline
And a will-o'-the-wisp has now become their beacon...


[Chorus]

The helmsman's lying, the captain's a junky
The engineer's lost in his lethargy
And the crew, all villains on perjury,
Won't send SOS, they're too cowardly
On the ship of fools that a Hobgoblin steers
Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


The helmsman's lying, the captain's a junky
The engineer's lost in his lethargy
And the crew, all villains on perjury,
Won't send SOS, they're too cowardly
On the ship of fools that a Hobgoblin steers
Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


Full speed ahead, and straight for the reef!


---------


This song dates back to 1998 -
but as its author, the German
singer / songwriter
Reinhard Mey himself says,

"It gets truer with every government."


A live performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWQUyDU4-oA