Visuals for Interpretation One

Lay down,

your sweet and weary head.

Night is falling.

You have come to journey’s end.

Sleep now, and dream

of the ones who came before.

They are calling,

from across a distant shore.

Why do you weep?

What are these tears upon your face?

Soon you will see.

All of your fears will pass away.

Safe in my arms,

you’re only sleeping.

What can you see,

on the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea,

a pale moon rises.

The ships have come,

to carry you home.

And all will turn,

to silver glass.

A light on the water.

All souls pass.

Hope fades,

Into the world of night.

Through shadows falling,

Out of memory and time.

Don’t say,

We have come now to the end.

White shores are calling.

You and I will meet again.

And you’ll be here in my arms,

Just sleeping.

What can you see,

on the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea,
a pale moon rises.

The ships have come,

to carry you home.

And all will turn,

to silver glass.

A light on the water.

Grey ships pass

Into the West.

Loose Threads on Theory One

The Undying Lands, for all intents and purposes in middle earth, is heaven, the afterlife for elves. Tolkien established that when an elf or man dies, his soul goes to dwell in the Halls of Mandos, located in Valinor, or the Undying Lands. Elves, because they do not die of old age, can travel to the undying lands by boat, sailing west over the sea (this only works for elves, men would just turn up on the east side of Middle Earth if they tried it).

“Across the sea
a pale moon rises….
A light on the water.”

The moon and light could be interpreted in terms of western cultural beliefs about death. Reports from people who have had near death experiences often describe a “tunnel” and a “light.” The light of the moon and the reflection of the light is like walking towards the light.

In The Lord of the Rings, the forces of evil are referred to as “Dark” and the forces of good are referred to as “Light.” I have also compared light and dark to life and death in my previous posts. In keeping with the light equals life and good while dark equals death and evil theme, the grey ships represent the neutrality of death.

“Why do the white gulls call?”

Elves are called to make the journey to the Undying Lands by the Sea Longing. Sea Longing is an irresistible urge to depart Middle Earth in favor of the Undying Lands and is irresistible and has been described as “perilous” to awaken. In most elves the Sea Longing is stirred by a visit to the sea shore; but in some, hearing the sea gulls is enough for the Sea Longing to take root.

“Grey ships pass
Into the West.”

There are many images of darkness and light in this song and grey is a bit of both: it could be darkness encroaching on light, a little light chasing away the darkness, both in some cases, or either in any other case. Like the “the glass is either half empty or half full” analogy: some people see death as a an inevitability and just accept it; others see death as a bad thing which must be avoided at all costs; and to others death is a good thing and should be embraced as another aspect of life, like childhood and adulthood, another level in the progression of their existence.

Rambling Thoughts About Theory Two

Just a sidenote:

The two peoopel in the song really don’t even have to be two soldiers. It could be someone blind and some one with hydrophobia, the weeping person could be on hallucinogens and someone could be trying to help get them through the symptoms of withdrawal, it could even be someone encouraging another to take the hallucinogen.

The main thing is that one's scared and the other is ecouraging the him to put his fears aside.

Last Tidbit on Theory 2

“Hope fades,
Into the world of night.”

Sometime after leaving port, the hope of making it across the sea unhindered is lost. They get attacked sometime at night.

“Through shadows falling,”

The details of the attack are lost…

“Out of memory and time.”

because there were no survivors.

“Don’t say,
We have come now to the end.
White shores are calling.
You and I will meet again.
And you’ll be here in my arms,
Just sleeping.”

The two soldiers are now facing death, they know they won’t be rescued. But the blind man is still being optimistic: death won’t be the end, there’s an afterlife to look forward to.

“the ships have come,
to carry you home.

And all will turn,
to silver glass.
A light on the water.
Grey ships pass
Into the West.”

In the last lines grey equals neutral, the grey ships are neutral ships, ships that don’t have a side in the war; they are ships of death, carrying solders from both sides of the war. Everything turning into silver glass The “West” is a metaphor for their new home; the west is where the sun sets down foe the night, where daytime ends, a place where no one have ever been able to reach, therefore that’s where the after life must be as well.

Second Interpretation

This is a song of encouragement between comrades in arms. They both have been injured an are headed home. The one who singing has been blinded.

“Lay down,
your sweet and weary head.
Night is falling,
You have come to journeys end.

Sleep now, and dream
of the ones who came before.
They are calling,
From across a distant shore.”

The first and second verses are literal. The struggle of war is over for the injured soldiers, they are on the ship that will take them back home. It is nighttime and the blind man bids the other to rest. Don’t fret. Family and friends are waiting fro him at voyage’s end.

“Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see.
All of your fears will pass away.
Safe in my arms,
your only sleeping.”

The soldier fears the voyage home, it is exceedingly dangerous, there isn’t a thing he can do about it, and he has been away from home so long he does not know what kind of reception he will receive from his family and friends. The blind comrade is assuring the soldier that he will be fine, that the voyage will go off with out a hitch and that he’s not going to be abandoned by either his family or him.

“What can you see,
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?”

The blind soldier is asking his comrade to describe to him the ocean, asks him to be his eyes.
What is happening that the sea gulls are crying?

“Across the sea,
a pale moon rises”

This is the bland man's guess at what is happening, based on the time of day.

“The ships have come,
to carry you home.”

Again, a literal interpretation will suffice.

“And all will turn,
to silver glass.
A light on the water.
All souls pass.”


This is a description of what the blind man imagines sunset looks like: the water turns silver from reflecting light. And “All souls” is referring to all their other fellow soldiers who have to make the same voyage they are taking now to get back home.

Verse Three

“Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see.
All of your fears will pass away.
Safe in my arms,
Your only sleeping.“

“Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?”

This is exactly along the lines of what just about anyone would say to a dying person. Don’t cry; you don’t have to cry; you shouldn’t cry; please don’t cry. What else can you say?

The exact words appear to be a gentle chiding, almost like a parent teasing their child for letting their fear of the Boogie Monster get the better of them.

“Soon you will see.
All of your fears will pass away.”

“Soon you will see.” See what? All of your fears proving irrelevant or unfounded of course. No more Boogie Monster (fear of death, war, a life of war, dying in war).

“Safe in my arms,
Your only sleeping.”

After being fatally wounded in battle the last thing I would want would to be left to die alone. I would want my Mom or Dad, brother, sister, friend, or even a stranger there to comfort me.

If I were comforting someone who fatally wounded and was going to die in a few hours or minutes and was displaying a fear of death, the last thing I would say to them is “you’re going to die.” I’d lie through my teeth until they died or insisted I tell them the brutal truth; then I would try to say it without really saying it.

First Verse

“Lay down,
Your sweet and weary head.
Night is falling.
You have come to journey’s end.”

If one were to listen no further into the song after this, or if this were the only verse that they heard, it could, and probably would, be interpreted literally. It sounds like someone encouraging a beloved one to get a good night’s sleep after a long, arduous, and dangerous trip.

The use of “Lay down” in the first refrain instead of “Lie down” is the first signal that this verse is not what it seems. “Lay” and “lie” are often mixed up and confused in everyday communication, and the difference between the two is easily overlooked in favor for attention to every word after that … which also happens to be the entire rest of the song.

To lie down is to be at rest, that is, with the expectation to rise again. But laying down is to set down, to place down, like an object that cannot move by itself; once that something is in place, it cannot move at will at all.

“Lay down, Your sweet and weary head.” is acknowledgement that “You” is not going to move be able to it again.

“Night is falling.”

“Night” is describing the ending of life, the darkness of night being compared to the blackness that envelopes one at death. As night is the opposite turn side of day, so death is the turn side of life. “Night falling,” or “nightfall“, is the ending of the day and the arrival of night, so death is the end of life.

“You have come to journey’s end.” Life is a Journey. It’s cliché. But that is what I interpret this line as: You have come to the end of (your) life. If the person who is dying is indeed a soldier as I imagine (see March 15 post), then they probably had been on a literal journey and are far away from home. Whoever is comforting them in their last minutes of life are probable trying to calm them, keep them from panicking, to make death as painless for them as possible.