Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA) is a… Read Full Bio ↴Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA) is an American composer, arranger, producer, instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, author, and actor based in Pasadena, California. Parks is perhaps best known for his collaborations with musician Brian Wilson, and especially for his lyrical contributions to The Beach Boys' legendary Smile album.

Among the hundreds of artists he's worked with include Phil Ochs, Tim Buckley, Haruomi Hosono, The Byrds, Rufus Wainwright, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, U2, Joanna Newsom, Inara George, Keith Moon, Frank Zappa, Harpers Bizarre, Little Feat, Ringo Starr, Silverchair, and Skrillex.

In addition to producing, Parks has released seven studio albums of his own recordings: Song Cycle, Discover America, Clang of the Yankee Reaper, Jump!, Tokyo Rose, Songs Cycled, and with Brian Wilson, Orange Crate Art. He has also released a live album, Moonlighting: Live at the Ash Grove. His first official release was the 1966 single Number Nine, a modernized version of Beethoven's 9th backed with Do What You Wanta.

Parks has also established himself in film scores, and over the years has directed, arranged, produced, and composed soundtracks for a great number of motion pictures and television shows.

During his childhood, Parks became extremely fond of old-style American music, most notably the sounds of Tin Pan Alley. This interest in Depression-era songwriting would correlate heavily with his artistic goals and interests during the 1960s and beyond. He was also deeply affected by musicians Spike Jones and Les Paul, which led him to develop an interest with studio experimentation in the form of pop music.

Black Gold
Van Dyke Parks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I had seen the captain drinking
When he took that stinking cargo out
Without a doubt he went too far
I don't know what he was thinking

But he will take us out to sea

Eighty thousand metric tons of crude

A crew of twenty-one
Just ajar her screws in motion
War pounding through the ocean
All the stars rotating in their canopy

Rolling in the hold
Time would now unfold
To this black gold
Back and forth
In time for every swell
The heavens fixed
Upon our last farewell

Then she hit the water with a shudder
It had got her
As she went down
What's up? says
Heard to utter was the captain in his cups
In my gut I know we all are doomed
She broke up
A hemmorage of oil gushed
A rage abroil from the soiled foil of her hull
And she was pulled beneath
The waves into her grave down in the gloom

My heart is still in pain
Bounding on the main
All this black gold
My mandolin will tell her how I feel
An agony of ebony and steel

What great balls of fire felt for miles around
A river spelt an ess of oil slithering
To leave your blackened
It is not romantic in the morning
And never mind come hithering
Slick stick on the shore
Seaside panic scores of frantic birds
Yet antic as they slog through all
It augurs as an ecologic nightmare to be sure

Black gold hades
High command
Black gold nature's
Upper hand
All this black gold
With ladies in mercedes on the strand
The tar upon her car and in the sand

I'm the way the resurrection
I'd say on him reflecting
With what we're doing here
For sure he'd want to
Down the deepest trenches
As their cadavers hold palaver
And the gravity of their endeavors
Christ
I'm not sure he'd feel secure

Lead us clear out of this dark
Man is stewing in his stench
Cleverly converts them into shark

My heart is still in pain
Bounding on the main
All this black gold

My mandolin will tell her how I feel
An agony of ebony and steel

Overall Meaning

Van Dyke Parks’s song “Black Gold” describes a catastrophic event at sea caused by an oil spill. The lyrics tell the story of a captain who takes a cargo of crude oil out to sea with a crew of twenty-one. The captain is seen drinking and going too far without thinking, which leads to the destruction of their vessel. As the ship sinks, the characters realize that they are all doomed, and soon after, a hemmorage of oil gushes from the damaged hull. The tragedy causes an ecologic nightmare, as the oil slicks on the shore panic scores of frantic birds.

The song paints a bleak picture of the effects of human actions on the environment, and it is a protest against the harms of exploiting natural resources. Parks poetically portrays the detrimental effects of the oil industry on nature and the world. The line “All this black gold” encapsulates the paradox of a valuable commodity, which is extracted and processed at great cost to the environment.

The songwriter uses vivid imagery to describe the oil spill, drawing on allusions to the Bible and classical myth. There is also a sense of grief, loss, and despair in the lyrics, as the characters come to terms with their own mortality, as well as the devastating impact of the oil spill on the natural world. “Black Gold” is a cautionary tale of the unseen, long-term consequences of human interference with nature.

Line by Line Meaning

I had seen the captain drinking
I witnessed the captain drinking alcohol

When he took that stinking cargo out
He took that smelly cargo away from the shore

Without a doubt he went too far
He took an unnecessary risk

I don't know what he was thinking
I'm puzzled about his intentions

But he will take us out to sea
He will be the one to navigate the ship

Eighty thousand metric tons of crude
The cargo weighs eighty thousand metric tons and is crude oil

A crew of twenty-one
The ship's crew consisted of twenty-one members

Just ajar her screws in motion
The ship's propellers were beginning to move

War pounding through the ocean
The sound of the ship's engines echoed through the water

All the stars rotating in their canopy
The stars in the sky were moving above them

Rolling in the hold
The cargo was shifting and moving in the storage area of the ship

Time would now unfold
The events were about to play out

To this black gold
Referring to the crude oil as black gold

Back and forth
The ship was rocking from side to side

In time for every swell
The ship was moving with the motion of the waves

The heavens fixed
The sky remained unchanged

Upon our last farewell
As we parted ways with the shore

Then she hit the water with a shudder
The ship made an abrupt impact with the sea

It had got her
The water had impacted the ship

As she went down
As the ship sank

What's up? says
The captain said, 'What's up?'

Heard to utter was the captain in his cups
The captain spoke indistinctly, possibly due to drunkenness

In my gut I know we all are doomed
I have a sinking feeling that we are all in danger

She broke up
The ship split into pieces

A hemmorage of oil gushed
Oil spilled out of the ship in a massive flow

A rage abroil from the soiled foil of her hull
The hull of the ship became soiled and caused a furious outpouring of oil

And she was pulled beneath
The remnants of the ship went under the water

The waves into her grave down in the gloom
The ship met its final resting place at the bottom of the ocean

My heart is still in pain
I still feel emotional pain over the disaster

Bounding on the main
Sailing on the open sea

All this black gold
Referencing the crude oil that was spilled

My mandolin will tell her how I feel
I will express my feelings through playing the mandolin

An agony of ebony and steel
The music played on the mandolin will be a painful and emotional experience

What great balls of fire felt for miles around
The flames could be felt from a great distance

A river spelt an ess of oil slithering
The oil spilled out like a river, forming a snake-like shape

To leave your blackened
The oil had the power to blacken everything it touched

It is not romantic in the morning
The aftermath of the oil spill was not beautiful or appealing

And never mind come hithering
There was nothing attractive about the oil spill

Slick stick on the shore
The remains of the oil created a slippery and slimy surface on the beach

Seaside panic scores of frantic birds
Birds were in a state of panic and desperation as a result of the disaster

Yet antic as they slog through all
The birds were still exhibiting some delirious or playful behavior despite the traumatic event

It augurs as an ecologic nightmare to be sure
The event was a warning sign and a disastrous environmental catastrophe

Black gold hades
The crude oil from the disaster was compared to the underworld

High command
Possibly referring to those who gave orders for the ship to be loaded with the crude oil

Black gold nature's
The crude oil is considered a part of nature, despite the environmental impact

Upper hand
The oil had the advantage over humanity, causing widespread damage

With ladies in mercedes on the strand
Describing affluent women who were not directly impacted by the disaster

The tar upon her car and in the sand
Even the luxury cars on the shore were not immune to the effects of the oil spill

I'm the way the resurrection
The singer connects themself to a possible higher power

I'd say on him reflecting
If the higher power was able to observe the situation, they would have a specific reaction

With what we're doing here
The singer questions the morality of those involved in the disaster

For sure he'd want to
The artist believes the higher power would want to intervene

Down the deepest trenches
Referring to the depths of the ocean

As their cadavers hold palaver
The meaning of this line is unclear, but it may refer to the death of sea creatures as a result of the oil spill

And the gravity of their endeavors
Referring to the enormous impact of human actions on the environment

Christ
This can be interpreted as surprise or as an expression of religious faith

I'm not sure he'd feel secure
The artist believes the higher power would not approve of or feel safe with humanity's actions

Lead us clear out of this dark
The artist is asking for help and guidance to leave the difficult and trying situation

Man is stewing in his stench
Humanity is living in the environment that has been destroyed and polluted by its own actions

Cleverly converts them into shark
This is a metaphor, possibly suggesting that humans have become predators and are responsible for the damage to the environment

Contributed by Dylan S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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