Here are the song lyrics before I dive into theories out there and my theory, in particular.
Standing on the edge of a quay no lights flashing on the water for me
Fog in my mind darkens my eyes silently streaming for a distant sound
Ripple river yellows rising for a breath of breeding and drowns
Stillness overcomes me in the night listen to the rising water moan
I’m waiting, waiting for the night boat woo I’m waiting
Waiting for the night boat
Shadows all through me shudder away echo me echo me (echo me)
Am I alone or is the river alive cause it echoes me, echoes me, echoes me
I’m waiting, waiting for the night boat woo I’m waiting
Waiting for the night boat
Waiting (waiting) waiting for the night boat woo I’m waiting (waiting)
Waiting for the night boat waiting for the night boat woo I’m waiting
Waiting for the night boat I’m waiting for the night boat
Now, that we have the lyrics in front of us, I wonder what theories are out there about what the song is about. Some of the theories I found include that it is about a curse, gaining fame, and how the mind plays tricks on you. Duran’s wiki doesn’t offer too much of a hint instead tells us that Simon wrote it on a bus ride home at night.
So, what do I think about these various theories? Like always, let’s look at them one at a time. Theory number 1 says that the song is about a curse. Could that be it? The very first line has the narrator standing at a dock, looking at the water that doesn’t have any lights. Clearly, it is night time. “Fog in my mind” could be confusion and “darkens my eyes” could mean that this confusion means that the person isn’t seeing things clearly. “Streaming for a distant sound” could be that the person is listening for the sound of someone or something there. I suppose this could be ghost like or something else supernatural. Certainly, the video might push us in that direction. The water rippling could indicate movement. Could the “yellow” be the light color of the tide? “Rising for a breath” could be again the rise of the tide. The end of that line could be that the tide comes up and goes back down and gets repeated. This whole line could just be what the narrator sees as he stands on the dock. The last line of that verse makes it seem like nothing else is moving but the water that is also making noise. Then, of course, the chorus brings up this “night boat”. Is it really a boat at night? Is it the saving grace from a curse? Maybe. The line about “shadows all through me shudder away” could indicate again supernatural. Could also just be the fear of being alone. Obviously, the line about the river being alive is straight up personification. Could it be that the supernatural entity comes from the water? I suppose. Thus, here is what I would say. This curse theory is a possible one, if it is broadened to include the supernatural, in general, but that is as far as one can go.
What about the theory about gaining fame? Obviously, to believe this theory, one has to accept that the nightboat represents fame, that it is a symbol. Certainly, fame would stop someone from being alone. The distant sound could be the crowd, the fans. I like the idea of this but I don’t really know how the rest of the lyrics would fit in. What is the fog then? What is darkening the eyes? What is the quay then-the edge of celebrity status? This theory is definitely an interesting one but one that requires much more of a stretch, I think.
What about the last theory about how the mind plays tricks on you? This one could go along with the curse theory, except that there really isn’t some ghost or supernatural entity involved. Like the curse theory, this one seems possible and might make more sense for those people who are more into reality. What do I think? I think it is probably this one. I think the song could be how the mind plays tricks, especially since it seems very possible if someone is standing by dark waters in the middle of the night by himself. That said, I love the video with the members of the band becoming zombie-like. What do the rest of you think?
-A
I knew Simon wrote it while waiting for his bus at night during his time at the B'ham University.
We are aware of the amazing power of Simon's mind to associate things and words, like the bus and the night boat, Rio the town – Rio the girl, ect…. so I don't get surprised if this awesome lyric takes you miles away from a night bus ….
I love and agree with the theory on how the mind plays tricks on you.
I'm no Simon Le Bon but I thought I'd give you my opinion by rewriting the lyrics to another of their familiar tunes. It's a song both you and Rhonda tried to figure out but couldn't agree on its meaning. I think you overthink it.
Songs don't always rhyme
But they have rhythm all of the time
Don't always have some hidden meaning
Sometimes there is one, sometimes you're dreaming
I take the words as is
Don't try to guess, don't try to quiz
Wait for the one who wrote the song
To say what's right, to say what's wrong
You think DD's lyrics are not so complicated
But give the meaning of their songs and you've hesitated
You think DD's lyrics are some strange JoSi man thing
I take their lyrics as they say
This song's about a guy
Found another girl who makes him wanna cry
She dangles sexy bait and her beauty taunts
He's getting lots of nookie but it's her love that he wants
I take the words as is
Don't worry if it's that or this
Until the author comes along
And tells the meaning of the song
You think DD's lyrics are not so complicated
But give the meaning of their songs and you've hesitated
You think DD's lyrics are some strange JoSi man thing
I take their lyrics as they say
JoSi man thing or thoughts about the fans
Don't know how I can see just what you see
I'd need a guarantee
From someone in the band
You think DD's lyrics are not so complicated
But give the meaning of their songs and you've hesitated
You think DD's lyrics are some strange JoSi man thing
I take their lyrics as they say
Ahhhhhh
You think DD's lyrics are not soooo…
Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh
Difficult umm-uh-ummmm
Not difficult, not too hard
Just not hard, not too hard
Not difficult, not too hard
Not too hard
Just not hard, not too hard
Listen…I never tried to figure out Nightboat. Even I have my limits, and this blog is pure Amanda.
Yes, that's right – I'm taking a giant step back from this one. The video alone used to scare the heck out of me, and not just because of the overacting. 😉 Amanda is on her with this one, and really – she's on her own with MOST of the the lyric analyzation, and she's much better at it than I.
The only time I really talk about lyrics on our blog is when we're reviewing something – and the reason I do it is purely because when I listen to a song – I do try to find meaning. I don't really understand how someone could appreciate the song without once even considering what the lyrics mean. Maybe that's unusual and maybe it's not something that every fan appreciates, but the reason I even bother to share what I'm getting from the song is to start discussion, not necessarily so that I can assert that I'm right and everyone else is wrong. Hardly. I'll go out on a limb right now and just say I'm wrong 99% of the time. (I'm being generous to myself with that other 1%) I realize that for some fans, they refuse to believe anything Amanda and I come up with here unless it's been guaranteed by someone in the band. My ego remains intact. 🙂
As for our overthinking it – this is a blog about being fans of Duran Duran…of COURSE we overthink things, and sometimes – we might even be right in doing so. Maybe.
As for you though, dear Anonymous….you've got a good creative streak in you. Simon LeBon or not.
-R
I don't think you overthink things, at least not in this case(sometimes, yeah maybe, but not when it comes to lyrics:). Hopefully lyrics make you think, or inspire interesting images at least. That's what they should. Otherwise why would anyone try to put any poetry in anything, they'd just say exactly what they meant. “I'm riding a bus in the middle of the night” or something like that. 😀
To me it always seemed to have to do with mythology. You know the ferryman coming to take the dead across the rivers of Hades. I mean not like literally but I always figured that was where Simon's imagery was coming from. He's used a lot of supernatural type imagery in his songs over the years.
A few thoughts in response:
1. While you may think I “over think”, you are the one who rewrote a song to tell me this. Some may claim that this is “over thinking” a response to me.
2. I enjoy thinking about what the songs might mean. I am a thinking person and I won't apologize for that. I like using my brain. If it isn't your thing, that's cool. You are welcome not to read.
3. You do realize that Simon has always said that he won't discuss the meanings of his songs. We won't ever get confirmation. I don't do blogs like this for that. I do it for fun. After all, fans try to find meanings in what they are fans of.
4. I always, always, always discuss the meanings in terms of “theories”. I openly acknowledge that I have no real idea. I like the exercise, though, of trying to figure it out.
-A
I knew that someone out there would come up with a better theory than what I had or what I saw. I like the idea of the rivers of Hades. I could totally see Simon having that as an influence. 🙂
-A
Being a guy, I'm probably more guilty of underthinking things. I tend to look for a sex angle in songs first and failing that, go on to some other possibility. Night Boat seems to be more about the mystery of being alone at the edge of an unfamiliar river at night and waiting to go somewhere. A peaceful yet spooky part of a journey. Waiting at a bus stop, if Simon really got the idea then, doesn't translate as well. On city streets at night, I'd be more afraid of getting mugged. I found the official video of the song is blocked on YouTube but you can see it on Dailymotion. Interestingly enough, it has to do with zombies coming out at night and attacking the band.
I'm not sure the reasoning behind of all Duran Duran's songs is considered top secret. I thought Blame The Machines was from a newspaper account of a German driver who was misled by his GPS navigation device and crashed on the autobahn. Not true?
I did mention the zombies in the video in my blog post. Perhaps, Blame the Machines is exactly what you said or maybe it isn't. I know that Simon is a smart guy and I wouldn't be surprised if that song, in particular, is an allegory of something else.
-A
I think the song is about a person who always has negativity in their life, nothing goes right. There are always bad things happening to him, and he can't get a break. Even if there seems to be a moment when things might change, a spark of hope, it ends up falling apart. And so, he just waits for it to all end, like waiting for Charon, the ferryman, to take lost souls to Hades.
I could see that. Thank you for sharing your theory! 🙂
-A
Makes me wonder if Simon wrote this because of the under world of the music industry.and
the zombies were probably the illuminati repitilians.the dark tone seems like the he realized it wasn’t what he thought it would be like