Josh Ritter (born in Moscow, Idaho on October 21, 1976) is an American sing… Read Full Bio ↴Josh Ritter (born in Moscow, Idaho on October 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band (as Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band). Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.

Born to two neuroscientists, Ritter bought his first guitar from the local K-MART after hearing the Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash classic Girl From The North Country. He started at Oberlin College with the intent to follow in his parents' scientist footsteps, but instead discovered songwriting, and the music of artists like Gillian Welch, Townes Van Zandt, and Leonard Cohen. He graduated and then moved east, favoring its close proximity to historic folk clubs such as "Club Passim" in Boston. On a shoestring budget he recorded his critically acclaimed breakthrough album Golden Age of Radio in 2002 at various tiny, one-room studios on the East Coast. He has continued to grow from there, further developing his sound on subsequent albums.

Josh has recorded several records and E.P.s. In chronological order, they are:

Josh Ritter (Self Titled) (2000)
Golden Age of Radio (2001)
Come and Find Me EP (2003)
Hello Starling (2003)
4 Songs Live E.P. (2005)
The Animal Years (2006)
Girl In The War E.P. (2006)
Good Man E.P. (2006)
In The Dark: Live At Vicar Street (2006)
The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (2007)
Live at the Record Exchange EP (2008)
So Runs the World Away (2010)
To the Yet Unknowing World (2011)
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Live at The Iveagh Gardens (April 2011)
The Beast In Its Tracks (2013)
Acoustic Live, Vol.1 (2015)
Sermon on the Rocks (2015)

Beautiful Night
Josh Ritter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Up here in the crows nest I am swimming through the breeze

One last memory from the sun as it is sinking by degrees

And high above the albatrosses, on the wing is light

And I will sing to her as she flies by

On this beautiful night

Ahead is the horizon, always changing, it stands fast

Far behind me are the desert islands, shipwrecks Of the past

And I have seen the cannons sounding in the early morning light

But I have left my battles for the day

On this beautiful night

Below me, all the sailors, they're on this journey too

And each of us must make our unknown way upon the blue

So tonight we cast our worries,

Float Jetsam on the tide

And we'll watch them echo far away

On this beautiful night

Flat earth may end

We may sail off the edge

And not be seen again

So I sing and hope my song will form

A rope of golden chords

So that I can rescue someone else

Should they fall overboard

Because some of us are pirates and some of us are damned

But all of us, need all of us to ever find the land

And though the passage of good hope may seem

Like a needles eye

We're floating on tranquility

On this Beautiful night

Up here in the crows nest

I am swimming through the breeze

One last memory from the sun

Overall Meaning

"Beautiful Night" is a song by American singer-songwriter Josh Ritter that takes us on a journey on the high seas. Ritter opens the song with an image of himself in the crow's nest, feeling free and connected to the world around him. Despite the uncertainties that come with sailing, he's finally at peace with himself and his surroundings. He reminisces about watching the sunset and how beautiful the night looked from up above. He finds solace in the fact that he's surrounded by his fellow sailors who are all on their own journey, trying to find their way upon the blue. Ritter hopes that his song can be a guiding light for anyone who may feel lost or may fall off the edge of the earth.

Ritter also talks about leaving behind his battles to enjoy the moment. He knows that each person on the ship has their own struggles and worries, but tonight, they've decided to let go of it all and enjoy the beautiful night. As they cast their worries and fears into the sea, they hope to find tranquility and peace. Ritter uses the metaphor of floating on top of the ocean to showcase how even in the middle of a vast ocean, we can still find calmness and tranquility.

Overall, "Beautiful Night" is a song about finding peace and tranquility in the middle of a chaotic and uncertain world. It's a reminder that we're all part of something bigger than ourselves and that we should always be there for one another. The song's message is that we need to be each other's anchor or guiding light to navigate through difficult times.

Line by Line Meaning

Up here in the crows nest I am swimming through the breeze
I feel free and alive as I enjoy the wind while reminiscing about the sun setting.

One last memory from the sun as it is sinking by degrees
I am cherishing the beauty of the sun going down, and it's becoming less visible as time passes.

And high above the albatrosses, on the wing is light
The albatrosses are up in the sky, and there is a bright light shining there.

And I will sing to her as she flies by
I will sing to the albatrosses as they fly by me.

On this beautiful night
This night is so peaceful and gorgeous.

Ahead is the horizon, always changing, it stands fast
The horizon may look different, but it's continually there and visible for us.

Far behind me are the desert islands, shipwrecks Of the past
I have left the past behind, including any unfortunate events or things that we lost on the journey.

And I have seen the cannons sounding in the early morning light
I have witnessed the sounds of cannons in the morning.

But I have left my battles for the day
I am not thinking about any battles or fights anymore. They will wait for another day.

Below me, all the sailors, they're on this journey too
All the other sailors on this journey are with me.

And each of us must make our unknown way upon the blue
We are all on our individual paths in this vast blue sea.

So tonight, we cast our worries, float Jetsam on the tide
We're freeing our worries and getting a fresh perspective by letting them wash away with the tide.

And we'll watch them echo far away
We'll see our worries go off and drift away, far from our minds.

On this beautiful night
This night is so peaceful and gorgeous.

Flat earth may end, we may sail off the edge, and not be seen again
We could float right off the Earth's edge and be lost forever.

So I sing and hope my song will form a rope of golden chords
I sing and hope that my music will be enough to save someone who needs saving.

So that I can rescue someone else should they fall overboard
I want to be able to save someone else if they fall overboard.

Because some of us are pirates and some of us are damned
Some of us are good people and others are evil.

But all of us need all of us to ever find the land
We need each other if we ever want to find land to settle on.

And though the passage of good hope may seem like a needle's eye
Even though the journey may look impossible, we should still try to make it happen.

We're floating on tranquility on this beautiful night
We're all enjoying this beautiful and peaceful night together.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JOSH RITTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Lucia Maquehue

9y↑2

Hasta aquí, en el nido de cuervos estoy nadando a través de la brisa
Una última memoria del sol, ya que se está hundiendo por grados
Y por encima de un albatros está siguiendo su luz
Y voy a cantar con ella como ella vuela por
En esta hermosa noche

Por delante está el horizonte, siempre cambiante, postura rápido
Muy por detrás de mí son las islas desiertas, los naufragios del pasado
Y he visto los cañones que suenan en la luz de la mañana
Pero he dejado mis batallas para el día
En esta hermosa noche

Por debajo de mí son los marineros, que están en este viaje también
Y cada uno de nosotros debe hacer nuestro camino desconocido en el azul
Así que esta noche echamos nuestras preocupaciones,
Flotador Jetsam de la marea
Y vamos a ver ellos hacen eco lejano
En esta hermosa noche

Viento de la Tierra Plana
Podemos navegar por el borde
Y no se volvió a ver
Por eso canto y esperanza formará mi canción
Una cuerda de acordes de oro
Así que puedo rescatar a otra
Si caen por la borda

Porque algunos de nosotros somos piratas y algunos de nosotros estamos condenados
Pero todos nosotros, necesitamos a todos a encontrar jamás la tierra
Y aunque el paso de buena esperanza
puede parecer un ojo agujas
Estamos flotando en tranquilidad
En esta hermosa noche
Hasta aquí, en el nido de cuervos
Estoy nadando a través de la brisa
Una última memoria del sol ...