Tempest Lyrics - Tempest (2 Vinyl Lps + Cd) - Bob Dylan

The pale moon rose in its glory 

Out on the Western town 

She told a sad, sad story 

Of the great ship that went down 

It was the fourteenth day of April 

Over the waves she rode 

Sailing into tomorrow 

To a golden age foretold 

The night was black with starlight 

The seas were sharp and clear 

Moving through the shadows 

The promised hour was near 

Lights were holding steady 

Gliding over the foam 

All the lords and ladies 

Heading for their eternal home 

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The chandeliers were swaying 

From the balustrades above 

The orchestra was playing 

Songs of faded love 

The watchman, he lay dreaming 

As the ballroom dancers twirled 

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking 

Into the underworld 

Leo took his sketchbook 

He was often so inclined 

He closed his eyes and painted 

The scenery in his mind 

Cupid struck his bosom 

And broke it with a snap 

The closest woman to him 

He fell into her lap 

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He heard a loud commotion 

Something sounded wrong 

His inner spirit was saying 

That he couldn't stand here long 

He staggered to the quarterdeck 

No time now to sleep 

Water on the quarterdeck 

Already three foot deep 

Smokestack was leaning sideways 

Heavy feet began to pound 

He walked into the whirlwind 

Sky splitting all around 

The ship was going under 

The universe had opened wide 

The roll was called up yonder 

The angels turned aside 

Lights down in the hallway 

Flickering dim and dull 

Dead bodies already floating 

In the double bottom hull 

The engines then exploded 

Propellers they failed to start 

The boilers overloaded 

The ship's bow split apart 

Passengers were flying 

Backward, forward, far and fast 

They mumbled, fumbled, and tumbled 

Each one more weary than the last 

The veil was torn asunder 

'Tween the hours of twelve and one 

No change, no sudden wonder 

Could undo what had been done 

The watchman lay there dreaming 

At forty five degrees 

He dreamed that the Titanic was sinking 

Dropping to her knees 

Wellington he was sleeping 

His bed began to slide 

His valiant heart was beating 

He pushed the tables aside 

Glass of shattered crystal 

Lay scattered roundabout 

He strapped on both his pistols 

How long could he hold out? 

His men and his companions 

Were nowhere to be seen 

In silence there he waited for 

Time and space to intervene 

The passageway was narrow 

There was blackness in the air 

He saw every kind of sorrow 

Heard voices everywhere 

Alarm-bells were ringing 

To hold back the swelling tide 

Friends and lovers clinging 

To each other side by side 

Mothers and their daughters 

Descending down the stairs 

Jumped into the icy waters 

Love and pity sent their prayers 

The rich man, Mister Astor 

Kissed his darling wife 

He had no way of knowing 

It'd be the last trip of his life 

Calvin, Blake and Wilson 

Gambled in the dark 

Not one of them would ever live to 

Tell the tale on the disembark 

Brother rose up 'gainst brother 

In every circumstance 

They fought and slaughtered each other 

In a deadly dance 

They lowered down the lifeboats 

From the sinking wreck 

There were traitors, there were turncoats 

Broken backs and broken necks 

The bishop left his cabin 

To help others in need 

Turned his eyes up to the heavens 

Said, "The poor are yours to feed" 

Davey the brothel-keeper 

Came out dismissed his girls 

Saw the water getting deeper 

Saw the changing of his world 

Jim Dandy smiled 

He never learned to swim 

Saw the little crippled child 

And he gave his seat to him 

He saw the starlight shining 

Streaming from the East 

Death was on the rampage 

But his heart was now at peace 

They battened down the hatches 

But the hatches wouldn't hold 

They drowned upon the staircase 

Of brass and polished gold 

Leo said to Cleo 

I think I'm going mad 

But he'd lost his mind already 

Whatever mind he had 

He tried to block the doorway 

To save all those from harm 

Blood from an open wound 

Pouring down his arm 

Petals fell from flowers 

'Til all of them were gone 

In the long and dreadful hours 

The wizard's curse played on 

The host was pouring brandy 

He was going down slow 

He stayed right to the end and he 

Was the last to go 

There were many, many others 

Nameless here forever more 

They never sailed the ocean 

Or left their homes before 

The watchman, he lay dreaming 

The damage had been done 

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking 

And he tried to tell someone 

The captain, barely breathing 

Kneeling at the wheel 

Above him and beneath him 

Fifty thousand tons of steel 

He looked over at his compass 

And he gazed into its face 

Needle pointing downward 

He knew he'd lost the race 

In the dark illumination 

He remembered bygone years 

He read the Book of Revelation 

And he filled his cup with tears 

When the Reaper's task had ended 

Sixteen hundred had gone to rest 

The good, the bad, the rich, the poor 

The loveliest and the best 

They waited at the landing 

And they tried to understand 

But there is no understanding 

On the judgment of God's hand 

The news came over the wires 

And struck with deadly force 

Love had lost its fires 

All things had run their course 

The watchman he lay dreaming 

Of all the things that can be 

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking 

Into the deep blue sea