Ships Thats Don't Come In
Joe Diffie Lyrics

Well, I could tell he'd had a tough life
I could see from his appearance that he had faced many difficulties in his life

By the way he sat and stared
His sitting posture and gaze conveyed his sorrows and struggles

And me, I'd come to push and shove
I had intentionally arrived to be confrontational and aggressive

So I pulled up a chair
Despite my initial intentions, I chose to sit down and have a conversation with him

We talked of roads untraveled
We discussed the paths in life that we had not taken

We talked of love untrue
We discussed experiences with love that had not been genuine

Of strings that come unraveled
We talked about things in life that can fall apart and become difficult to fix

We were kings and kindred fools
Despite our hardships, we still saw ourselves as strong and worthy individuals

And just when I'd hit bottom
Right when I had reached my lowest point in the conversation

That old man raised his glass
The elderly gentleman picked up his glass of spirits

And said at least we've had our chances
He pointed out that we had opportunities in life that some people never had

There's those who never have
Some individuals never get a chance to succeed or improve their lives

So here's to all the soldiers
Let's appreciate and raise a toast to the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for their country

Who have ever died in vain
Many soldiers lost their lives without achieving their expected goals

The insane locked up in themselves
We must not forget those who are struggling with mental illness and are confined to their own minds

The homeless down on Main
Let's not ignore the homeless population living on the streets

To those who stand on empty shores
We must appreciate the courage of those who are facing great struggles with no support or hope

And spit against the wind
These individuals are fighting against the odds and resisting their difficult situations

And those who wait forever
We must also remember those who are waiting indefinitely for something that might never come

For ships that don't come in
They are waiting on a dream or goal that may never be realized

He said it's only life's illusions
The old man suggested that many of our struggles are just our own fabricated illusions or misconceptions

That bring us to this bar
These illusions bring us to this place of sorrow and pain

To pick up these old crutches
We cling to our old vices and unhealthy coping mechanisms in the face of our troubles

And compare each others scars
We seek out empathy and support by comparing our pain and suffering with others'

'Cause the things we're calling heartache
Many of the problems we describe as heartbreak or tragedy are actually insignificant in the grand scheme of things

Hell, they're hardly worth our time
Our problems are not even worth our attention or energy

We bitch about a dollar
We often complain about trivial things, like small amounts of money

When there's those without a dime
We forget that some people do not even have basic necessities like shelter and food

As he ordered one last round
Before leaving, he ordered one final drink

He said I guess we can't complain
The old man suggested that even though we have problems in life, we still have a lot to be thankful for

God made life a gamble
Life is unpredictable and full of risks, which are outside our control

And we're still in the game
But despite this, we are still alive and must keep going

And those who wait forever
We must not forget the people who are still waiting for something that will never come

For ships that don't come in
These individuals are waiting on something they will never receive or achieve