After Makem amicably left The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem in 1969, Bobby Clancy joined as the fourth lead vocalist. Two of the Furey Brothers, Finbar Furey and Eddie Furey, also joined at this time as instrumentalists and back-up singers. Paddy asked Finbar Furey if he would play the whistle and five-string banjo with the group. Finbar also added Uillean pipes to his performances, creating a new sound for the group on stage, recordings, and TV. The six-piece band recorded two new albums in the summer of 1969: "Clancy Brothers Christmas", released later that year, and "Flowers in the Valley", released in 1970. The latter was their final album for Columbia Records.
Finbar and Eddie Furey left in 1970, and, for a short time, just the four brothers, Paddy, Tom, Bobby and Liam, performed together. This line-up recorded only one album together, Welcome to Our House, in 1970 for their new label, Audio Fidelity Records. Later that same year, Liam and Bobby got into an argument that resulted in Bobby quitting the group. Bobby later said about his younger brother: "With Liam it was very hard to be equal. I try to make it as equal as possible and everybody's happy that way. It makes it a better sound."
In 1971, the remaining Clancys recruited English folk singer, Louis Killen, to play the banjo, concertina, and spoons with the group. Together they made two studio albums for Audio Fidelity, Save the Land and Show Me the Way, on which they experimented with modernising their sound, musical style, and material, even including pop songs like Elton John's "Country Comfort". They recorded their final album for Audio Fidelity, the more traditional Live on St. Patrick's Day, at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut in 1972. It was released the following year.
By the early 1970s, the Clancys reduced their touring schedule to five months a year. The brothers were moving in different directions In spite of the brothers' growing distance, but, in spite of this, the group made one more album with Killen for Vanguard Records, The Clancy Brothers' Greatest Hits, as well as several television appearances on the Irish Rovers Show in Canada and a TV special for Brockton television in 1974 (in which Bobby Clancy made a surprise guest appearance).
In early 1976, a scheduling conflict between a tour of Australia and a television role for Tom Clancy provoked Liam to leave the group. Beginning in 1977, the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell (who took on the role Liam had vacated) toured three months a year in March, August, and November.
In the summer of 1983, the group travelled to their hometown in Ireland to film a 20-minute special on sea songs, sung on location on the fishing ships in the area. It was called Songs of the Sea. Directed by Irish filmmaker David Donaghy, it was broadcast on the BBC Northern Ireland.
In 1984, Makem and Clancy's manager Maurice Cassidy brought the original foursome The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem together again for a documentary, followed by a concert and the album The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem Reunion.
In 1988, the Clancy Brothers (Paddy, Tom, and Bobby) with Robbie O'Connell recorded a poorly mixed live album at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, titled "Tunes 'n' Tales of Ireland".
With the death of Tom Clancy in 1990, Liam again stepped in full-time with his brothers. This line-up experienced a more active schedule than the group had during the previous decade, with appearances on Regis and Kathie Lee in 1991, 1993 and 1995, a performance at the 30th Anniversary Bob Dylan concert at Madison Square Garden in 1992, seen by 20,000 live and 200 million people worldwide on television, and the formation of Irish Festival Cruises in 1991, an annual cruise of the Caribbean with live folk music. They also brought their own tour groups to Ireland, which Robbie O'Connell continues.
The Bob Dylan concert in 1992 inspired the recording of the first studio album by The Clancy Brothers in over twenty years (since 1973's Greatest Hits). Released in late 1995, "Older But No Wiser" introduced all newly recorded songs with the exception of "When the Ship Comes In", which the group performed at the Dylan concert. It was the only recording to feature the line-up of Paddy, Bobby, Liam Clancy, and Robbie O'Connell. Older But No Wiser was The Clancy Brothers' final album.
Before splitting up, The Clancy brothers and Robbie O'Connell gave a Farewell Tour of Ireland and America in February and March 1996. One performance in Clonmel, as part of their Irish tour, was televised and later released on video and DVD as The Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell: Farewell to Ireland.
After the break-up, Paddy and Bobby continued touring as The Clancy Brothers, with Bobby's son Finbarr Clancy becoming an official member of the group. The trio added longtime friend of Bobby's daughter Aoife, Eddie Dillon, to the group for a thirteen city engagement in early 1997. The quartet was known as the Clancy Brothers and Eddie Dillon. Eddie Dillon, a Boston-based musician, is the only American ever to perform with the Clancy Brothers.
Liam Clancy and Robbie O'Connell toured for a while as a duo, but very soon added Liam's son Dónal Clancy to the mix, forming the group, Clancy, O'Connell & Clancy. They released two albums together, an eponymous debut album in 1997 and an album of sea songs in 1998, The Wild and Wasteful Ocean.
With three brothers having died (Tom in 1990, Pat in 1998, Bobby in 2002), the last surviving Clancy brother, Liam Clancy, continued to tour solo into the twenty-first century. He died in 2009.
When The Ship Comes In
The Clancy Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
When the Ship Comes In, written by Bob Dylan and performed by The Clancy Brothers, is a song about the arrival of a new era, one in which justice and truth prevail over oppression and lies. The song's opening lines depict a calm before the storm, a moment of stillness that signals the impending arrival of a ship. This symbolizes a moment of hope, a time when something significant is about to happen, a time when the world will change in ways that were previously unimaginable.
As the ship arrives, the singer describes a dramatic scene in which the waters part, the ship glides in, and the shoreline trembles. The fishes and seagulls laugh and smile, the rocks on the sand proudly stand as the ship comes in. These images are meant to convey a sense of joy and celebration, a moment when the entire natural world is aware that something great has arrived.
The final verses of the song describe the aftermath of the ship's arrival. As the sands roll out a carpet of gold, the wise men on the ship remind the people that the whole world is watching, and that they have a responsibility to create a better world. The foes, who represent the corrupt and oppressive forces in society, are defeated and drowned in the tide, much like Pharaoh's army or Goliath before them. The arrival of the ship thus represents a triumph of justice and truth over oppression and lies.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, the time will come up
There will be a time in the future
When the winds will stop
The winds will cease blowing
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
The gentle winds will stop blowing
Like the stillness in the wind
As if there was no wind at all
Before the hurricane begins
Just before a storm hits
The hour that the ship comes in
The moment when good fortune arrives
And the seas will split
The sea will part
And the ship will hit
A ship will arrive
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
The sand on the shore will tremble
Then the tide will sound
The sea will roar
And the wind will pound
The wind will beat against the shore
And the morning will be breaking
It will be morning
Oh, the fishes will laugh
Fish will seem to be happy
As they swim out of the path
Fish will move out of the way
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
Seagulls will appear to be happy
And the rocks on the sand
Rocks on the beach
Will proudly stand
Will stand tall and proud
The hour that the ship comes in
The moment when good fortune arrives
And the words that are used
The words that are spoken
For to get the ship confused
To confuse the ship's crew
Will not be understood as they're spoken
The crew will not understand what is said
For the chains of the sea
The chains that bind the ship
Will have busted in the night
Were broken in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
And are now at the bottom of the sea
A song will lift
A song will be sung
As the mainsail shifts
As the main sail moves
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
The ship drifts to the beach
And the sun will respect
The sun shines down on
Every face on the deck
Every face on the ship's deck
The hour that the ship comes in
The moment when good fortune arrives
Then the sands will roll
The sand will move
Out a carpet of gold
A golden carpet will be formed
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
For your tired feet to walk on
And the ship's wise men
The ship's knowledgeable men
Will remind you once again
Will tell you once more
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Everyone is watching
Oh, the foes will rise
The enemies will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
Half-awake
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreaming
And they'll wake up suddenly and think they are dreaming
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
But they'll squeeze themselves and scream
And know that it's for real
And realize it's true
The hour when the ship comes in
The moment when good fortune arrives
Then they'll raise their hands
They'll put their hands up
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
Saying they will agree to anything
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
But the ship's crew will warn them that their time is running out
And like Pharaoh's tribe
Just like Pharaoh's followers
They'll be drownded in the tide
They will be drowned in the sea
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered
They will be defeated like Goliath was
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind