Vessel
(guitar tuned down a whole step (DGCFAD). “Slack tuning”)

An old Ridgely song that was never recorded. For some reason I’ve still held onto this one although it’s slightly preachy for my tastes nowadays. I can’t seem to get away from nautical settings although I myself am terrified by the sea, its depths, its inhabitants, its sheer volume, and its ruthlessness.

a quarter of a century
and I still have my hope
we sail as one but my ship has run
into the sea of mutiny
it's not the winds
that churn the seas and
shake my meager vessel
it's the endless unknown

shore up the leaks and fill in all the holes
I'm plugging up the pride of that
which I must swallow
seal up the seams and guide this vessel
through the journey
feel these, seal these, heal these holes

I daily scan for a greater plan
that the horizon will be the future
sovereignty is the life of me and
it keeps this vessel floating
the captain guards what his sailors give
that hope may be their sustenance
I set my course for providence

shore up the leaks and fill in all the holes
I'm plugging up the pride of that
which I must swallow
seal up the seams and guide this vessel
through the journey

and can it be
that your sovereignty is greater
than I ever believed it?
can it be true that
the stubborn fool that I've passed over
a thousand times
is really me? it's really me.....