"Actually, it [the ship] came out in 1972. I had just turned 20 years old that May and we spent the following month at Elektra in Los Angeles recording. As I remember, it was released the following fall. There weren't any folk clubs as such in Champaign, Illinois and the idea of Melshenker and Cowan playing dances is pretty funny. In reality, we were all playing at a coffehouse called "The Red Herring" which sponsored folk festivals. Reinwand and Hamby generally played together as a duet, Melshenker and Cowan usually performed solo and I was mostly playing twelve-string, but was the only person they knew who had previously played bass and I would borrow my roommates Hofner when somebody needed a bass player. Most of the songs at the folk festivals were original and there were some pretty good people in the core group of maybe 25-30 individuals who played in most of them and did weekend sets down in the basement the rest of the year. Notables among the regulars included songwriters Thom Bishop and Fred Koller, singer/songwriter Linn Brown and a young guy named Dan Fogelberg. For a fairly small city in the middle of the Illinois cornfields, it was some pretty high-powered talent. Melshenker and Cowan got together and wrote The Ship and then asked Reinwand, Hamby and me to help arrange and perform it - originally as a one-shot deal consisting of three or four performances at the Red Herring. It did well, so we eventually decided to oficially form a group and take it on the road to other college campuses and a few Chicago nightclubs. After the album came out, we played it another year or two and then retired the piece and switched to playing individual songs, mostly original and about 50% with acoustics and 50% electric guitars. This was a real relief as the album was very tedious to play and we were getting pretty bored playing it over and over. Looking back, it was somewhat naive, but we were pretty young back then and it was our first experience in a big-time studio. The band lasted another three or four years with a few personel changes and then broke up in the mid 1970's. Former members are spread across the country and I believe the only person from the band still playing for a living is Steve Reinwand, who later changed his name to Billy Panda. He's now a well known Nashville Studio musician with a string of album credits as long as your arm and he spends some of his time touring with Kim Carnes.
"I suspect we played The Ship live 40-50 times over about three years before finally retiring it and moving on to playing regular original songs. It was played in two continuous halves with an intermission, just as it is on the album and other than a few stray harmonies and some vocal double-tracking to thicken the blend, the album is very faithful to a live performance. We resisted mightily adding stuff to the album that we couldn't do live. This didn't thrill the folks at Elektra, as they leaned toward adding more "production", but we didn't want people walking out of a live concert and thinking that the live version didn't make the grade compared to the album. We did add Tim Scott's cello in a couple small spots. Tim played with Harry Chapin and Harry was recording during the daytime in the same studio we were using at night. Being able to borrow Tim for a couple nice fills was just too good to pass up.
"I think Elektra found us hard to deal with - partially because we were so young and clueless about big-time recording and because our resistance to over-producing (in our minds) the piece made it less sale-able on the street. Obviously, their main interest was selling records and getting the most commercially viable product out there. Our main interest leaned more toward getting a faithful recording of what we had actually created and there was considerable friction between the two viewpoints much of the time. When they sent us a copy of the final mix, we hated it and sent Steve Reinwand and Roger Francisco (our manager who owned a small recording studio) back out to L.A. to re-mix it and get rid of a lot of echo and other effects. We're pretty sure that doing so effectively slit our throats with Elektra as most of the pre-planned promotion for the finished album never happened. We had even made a music video (in 1972!). We had to join the Screen Actors Guild to do it and they had shots of us sailing around on the boat on the album cover set to music. I saw it once, but it was never used for anything that I know of and I think they then stuck us in the "tax-write-off" category. When the option for a second album came up, they weren't interested. It's hard to say which viewpoint was correct, but I don't think any of us ever really regretted sticking to our guns and trying to keep it as "real" as possible (of course, if I could now be living in a mansion with a swimming pool, I might have changed my mind...). I think The Ship was a decent first album for a young band. It's obviously by no means perfect or a landmark piece of music, but it's pleasant to listen to and offered something fairly unusual in it's time. These days, we could have cut it in a garage on a laptop and produced it ourselves, but back then, getting one of the half-dozen or so major labels to take the risk of plugging a lot of cash into a concept-album/folk-opera type of thing was a pretty decent accomplishment for a bunch of young guys from Illinois.
"As far as I know, Steve Cowan is still in California and works with computers, Steve (now Albert) Melshenker is also in California and does advertising for a living, Mark Hamby is in Seattle and has some sort of investment firm and Steve Reinwand (Billy Panda) is in Nashville, adding guitar and mandolin tracks to albums for folks like Kenny Rogers, Montgomery-Gentry, The Oak Ridge Boys and a bunch of others. I'm in Wisconsin and build fancy sails for sailing canoes (Is that obscure enough? - I was a sailor and now I are one...). I wrote a book on them a few years back called "Canoe Rig" and get most of my business from people who have my book. I still have three amps and a bunch of guitars in my office and play an hour or two nearly every day (use it or lose it) but haven't played with anybody or in front of an audience in 30 years. I did recently buy a small digital recording deck and have been playing around, recording little snippets, trying to figure out how it works. It has a "canned" drummer built in who is quite steady, though not particularly imaginative and I'm working around the fact that I've never been a particularly good vocalist or lead guitarist (it sucks when you have to play all the parts yourself, one at a time). But, it's kind of fun once you get it all together (and at least the bass lines are solid). There are a few samples here. Some are just one guitar or bass, a couple are early attempts to actually multi-track a song. There are mistakes, instrument buzz and other junk in them at times, but I'm slowly figuring out how the recorder works. I figure that if I can crank out 11-12 cuts per year I can send home-made albums out to my relatives for Christmas and save a bunch of money and hassle.....At this point, that's about all I have in mind as far as musical asparitions go.
Band Members
Steve Melshenker - 2nd Lead Guitar, Vocals
Steve Cowan - 12 String Guitar, Vocals
Steve Reinwand - Lead Guitar, Dobro, Mouth Harp, Vocals
Mark Hamby - Piano, Flute, Vocals
Todd Bradshaw - Bass Guitar
Tim Scott - Cello
The Storm
The Ship Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We signed aboard to risk our lives and fortunes we had earned
Good God, the storm is raging, why must I live this way?
I have no time today, I have no time today for dying, dying
The sky turns black, the waters lash their fury on the deck
We must secure the mainsail for we can’t afford to wreck
Good God, the storm is raging, why must I live this way?
Once I lay beneath the sky tracing birds in flight
I chose to do the same as they
Now I wonder—was it worth it all?
Now I wonder—have I begun to fall and fall and fall?
A child collected butterflies, prevented their escape
I chose to let them fly away
Now I wonder—was it worth it all?
Now I wonder—have I begun to fall and fall and fall?
Once I loved a pretty girl who wanted to be free
I chose to let her slip away
Now I wonder—was it worth it all?
Now I wonder—have I begun to fall and fall and fall?
The lightning splits the watchtower as the thunder drives us down
We’re helpless among strangers but there’s no one else around
Good God, the storm is raging, why must I live this way?
I have no time today, I have no time today for dying, dying
The storm, it has no ending and its madness has no name
And now the calm of reason and the storm are but the same
And now the ship is lost, and all our hopes have turned to dust
I have no one to trust, I have no one to trust, I’m dying, dying
When first we set our sails to find the port of No Return
We signed aboard to risk our lives and fortunes we had earned
And now the ship is lost, and all our hopes have turned to dust
I have no one to trust, I have no one to trust, I’m dying, dying, dying
She sails, oh, she sails
"The Storm" by The Ship's depicts the story of sailors setting sail to find the port of No Return, willing to risk their lives and fortunes to discover something new. However, they are met with a storm so strong that it leaves them helpless and questioning if their choices were worth it. The song reflects on the choices made in life and the consequences they bring. The lyrics, "Good God, the storm is raging, why must I live this way? I have no time today, I have no time today for dying, dying" highlights the feeling of helplessness and the struggle to keep going despite the chaos around.
The storm represents a metaphorical storm in life that one faces when they take risks and make choices that may not always turn out as expected. The song suggests that although we may have control over certain aspects of our lives, in the end, we may still be helpless against nature and the forces of the universe. The last verse of the song, "And now the ship is lost, and all our hopes have turned to dust. I have no one to trust, I have no one to trust, I’m dying, dying, dying. She sails, oh, she sails" perfectly sums up the feeling of defeat and the realization that sometimes things do not go as planned.
Line by Line Meaning
When first we set our sails to find the port of No Return
At the beginning of our journey to find the unattainable, we took a chance and agreed to gamble everything we have earned.
We signed aboard to risk our lives and fortunes we had earned
We voluntarily agreed to put our lives and hard-earned wealth at stake for this venture.
Good God, the storm is raging, why must I live this way?
Amidst the perilous storm, I can't help but question the value of my life and the choices leading up to this point.
I have no time today, I have no time today for dying, dying
With so much at risk, I can't afford to let death catch up to me.
The sky turns black, the waters lash their fury on the deck
The once serene sky is replaced by darkness and the violent waves wreak havoc on our deck.
We must secure the mainsail for we can’t afford to wreck
We must act quickly to protect our main source of propulsion since our survival depends on it.
Once I lay beneath the sky tracing birds in flight
Back when life was more peaceful, I spent time watching birds fly under the sky.
I chose to do the same as they
Like the birds, I made a choice to fly towards my own dreams.
Now I wonder—was it worth it all?
Now, in the middle of this crisis, I question if the pursuit of my goals was worth this much risk.
Now I wonder—have I begun to fall and fall and fall?
I am starting to question if I am now heading towards a downward spiral.
A child collected butterflies, prevented their escape
A child saved and kept some butterflies from flying off.
I chose to let them fly away
In contrast to the child, I let things go and made choices that allowed me to pursue my own goals.
Once I loved a pretty girl who wanted to be free
There was a girl I once loved who wanted nothing more than to be free.
I chose to let her slip away
I made the decision to let her go, even though it would cause me heartache.
The lightning splits the watchtower as the thunder drives us down
The intense lightning strikes the watchtower, while the deafening thunder overwhelms us.
We’re helpless among strangers but there’s no one else around
We're in dire need of help, but there's no one nearby that can assist us.
The storm, it has no ending and its madness has no name
The storm's fury appears to never end, and its overwhelming nature is beyond definition.
And now the calm of reason and the storm are but the same
Even my once logical reasoning is now overtaken by the chaos of the storm.
And now the ship is lost, and all our hopes have turned to dust
With the ship gone, our dreams and aspirations have been shattered.
I have no one to trust, I have no one to trust, I’m dying, dying
Without anyone I can rely on, I feel as though I am dying.
She sails, oh, she sails
Despite the chaos, the ship continues to sail, although its destination is unknown.
Contributed by Colin V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cathy Boots
I wish my son would have called me, I wish my son would have come home. But he didn't. Listen to this man. He is wise. Whatever you do don't quit... My son quit... He was in Alaska. He had a great job he had money in the bank he had everything going for him he was 31 years old. And he took his life 5 years ago in August 17th 2017... it's a living hell for the family to deal with on a daily. Holidays are horrible... Contact your mom and dad if you get in trouble give them a call. Don't sit in silence. Reach out to someone. My son didn't realize how many people loved and cared about him. He's gone forever. Depression is a liar. Depression tells you that no one cares. Don't let depression lie to you. Don't quit because every storm that you go through in life makes you a stronger wiser individual... Get up in the morning and put your armor on. And when Life starts throwing arrows. You will be able to withstand them.
You will come out stronger than ever. Don't quit. Don't ever do it. I miss my Son 💔😭 so MUCH.👣🌄🌻🍁🌿🌏❣️
ruck27
The world works in mysterious ways. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe a part of the divine plan. May you keep healing and your son is at peace now
Original Juice
Bless you for sharing and hope you can find peace and comfort in this world today, alongside strong family and friendships. I saw the same happen to my best friends family, 3 Brothers, the youngest took his own life 12 years ago and as strong as that family was, they still feel that piece of completion missing.
I can tell you that over time it does get better, i've seen it with my own eyes. You will always miss him and love him of course, but you must allow for healing and allow for others to help console you.
Panther Modern
Depression doesn't lie. It changes you, alters the way you think. To a depressed person their thoughts are as logical as laws of nature, and that's the scariest thing I've ever felt. To know with your mind that people care for you and love you, but not being able to feel and acknowledge that with your heart and soul is hard. But as long as you keep yourself strong mentally and physically, you can live with it, and perhaps it'll get better eventually. Hope is strong, hope is what saves you in the darkest hour.
Phoenix D
I am so sorry for your loss of your Son 🙏💐🕯
Sirjxy
This comment saved my life tn.. thank you.
HallowedJester
Hearing you talking about boats made me remember something my grandfather once said - "When the ships were made of wood, the men were made of steel, now the ships are made of steel and the men of wood."
Thanks Dewayne for reminding me to be a man of steel.
God bless
Dark Knight
Then why are there steel boats if wood float the quote is great though
Markus Wilson
@AJ still waiting on you to explain to me how the name Mark Wilson, is childish?
Markus Wilson
@B3_OP steel is more dense than water, so it sinks. Wood is less dense, so it floats. The reason boats made of steel float isn’t because steel can suddenly float on its own. It’s because steel boats are made specially with buoyancy compartments, essentially pockets filled with air.