Submarines

Song Meaning

The narrator recounts a series of unsettling sightings of submarines, beginning with a belief in their existence beneath the "deep blue sea" and the "flags, Japanese." This initial conviction is met with immediate disbelief, as the narrator "told the people how I had seen a submarine / And everyone laughed aloud." The experience is isolating, suggesting a profound disconnect between the narrator's perceived reality and the acceptance of others. The tension escalates with a more specific sighting: a "periscope / Dead of night on the eastern coast," which is again dismissed, this time with police making "jokes" and suggesting the narrator had "seen a ghost." The core conflict here is the narrator's struggle for credibility against pervasive skepticism. The lyrics repeatedly emphasize this isolation, stating "No one trusts what I say" and "everyone thinks I'm a liar." This disbelief is so profound that it leads to a dramatic physical manifestation: "Overnight, my hair turned gray." This stark image suggests the immense psychological toll of holding onto a truth that no one else will acknowledge. The narrator feels trapped, unable to escape the situation or the lack of trust. The most striking aspect of the writing is the stark contrast between the extraordinary claims and the mundane reactions. The narrator sees potentially clandestine military activity, but the response is ridicule and dismissal. This creates a sense of surreal paranoia. The final lines, "In the end, it boils down / To credibility / I had none, so I will die / With the secrets of the sea," crystallize the narrator's despair. The profound, hidden knowledge of the "secrets of the sea" becomes a burden, a truth that will die with them because no one believed their initial, seemingly outlandish, pronouncements. This narrative's power lies in its portrayal of profound loneliness and the psychological weight of being disbelieved. The lyrics don't offer resolution, but rather a stark depiction of an individual alienated by their own perceived reality. The imagery of the submarines and the narrator's subsequent isolation creates a potent, almost claustrophobic, atmosphere. The final admission of dying with "secrets of the sea" underscores the tragic consequence of this lack of trust, leaving the listener with a lingering sense of unease and empathy for the unheard narrator.