The Young Republic is a Nashville quintet, schooled at the Berklee College … Read Full Bio ↴The Young Republic is a Nashville quintet, schooled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and signed in Europe to End Of The Road Records. Since 2004, these highly skilled musicians have been praised by the likes of Mojo Magazine, The BBC and The Guardian for their extraordinary take on American Music. Classical training blends into a love of jazz, blues and folk and is all packaged in one hell of a rock n' roll band. Their new album Balletesque explores all the aforementioned territory and at points goes beyond to something unique to the group itself. Nashville players with conservatory training and a rock n' roll heart, The Young Republic is a band not to be missed.

Paper Ships
The Young Republic Lyrics

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If you go down with this ship
I will salute you from the shore
But there's no confidence in my eye, kid;
There's no winning.
And don't believe the history
Cos there's no love song in a war
Unless love is a booty
In your best friend.

And there's a poem in your mouth
But you won't ever let it out
Yes, t'is, so make sure t' move out
To the country.
But don't you waste your time
Painting the handle of a gun
Because your colours will be shown
When you are fighting.

And there's a kid my age
Who died today.

So take the gold off your gate
Because property is hate
If it's their blood on your estates
If it's their kid that you take –

Now mama, I'm singing
For your mistakes.

Overall Meaning

The Young Republic's song "Paper Ships" is a melancholic composition with a captivating message of war, love and the terrible consequences of both. The song starts with the singer acknowledging that the ship is going down and the only thing he can do is salute the person going down with it. He is realistic about this situation, saying that he does not have any confidence in his eyes and that there is no winning. The history that he refers to is the fact that there are no love songs in wars unless you consider love to be a mere bounty for your friend. This is a sad reflection of how love loses relevance when war is involved.

The singer then talks about the power of poetry, how there is a poem in the mouth of the person he's singing to, but they won't let it out. The singer encourages the person to move to the country, but not paint the handle of a gun because the colours will be shown when they are fighting. This reflects on the senselessness of painting something that is already designed to cause destruction. The singer then references a kid who died that day, and this makes the song all the more heartbreaking.

In the final verse, the singer speaks directly to a mother, acknowledging her mistakes and how her actions have affected her children's lives. He advises her to take the gold off her gate because property is hate, and if it's another person's blood on her estates, then she needs to, "mama, pay attention." This is a powerful call to action that underlines how war and property always come with a price, and it is always the innocent who suffer.

Line by Line Meaning

If you go down with this ship
If you choose to stick with this doomed situation,

I will salute you from the shore
I'll honor your commitment, from afar,

But there's no confidence in my eye, kid;
But I'm not confident in our chances,

There's no winning.
We can't come out on top,

And don't believe the history
Don't trust what you've heard,

Cos there's no love song in a war
There's no romance to be found,

Unless love is a booty
Unless it's something to be gained From an ally,

In your best friend.
In someone you trust entirely.

And there's a poem in your mouth
You have something valuable to say,

But you won't ever let it out
But you're hesitant to speak up,

Yes, t'is, so make sure t' move out
Yes, it's worth fighting for, so protect yourself,