Generational 'Boats'

[Kirk]

This mother/daughter duo gives Boats a sail. Mom has heard the song before but hasn't dissected the lyrics. The daughter hasn't heard it before. It's interesting to hear the two of them go back and forth on whether or not it's a hopeful tune or a song resigned to sadness, not unlike the discussions we've had on here. Even as Eric described Boats as a song to hang yourself by, others on here have seen it as a song of reconciliation. At the end, in unison, the mom and daughter exclaim, "Wow!" My sentiments, exactly:

 

[LC]

Wow. Never mind "All By Myself" or "Tonight" or "Go All the Way" or even "Overnight Sensation." "Boats Against the Current" is Eric's true masterpiece.

And because I've only ever heard/read "Boats" discussed this deeply here at Bernie's site, I got a huge kick out of the analysis this mom-and-daughter team give it. 

What perfect lyrics... perfect melody... and perfect arrangement. As a bonus, there's the mystery Eric built into the song (though he later resolved it in this space... but we'll keep that a secret).

Your best share ever, Kirk.

[Rhonda B]

Great discussion by mother and daughter. I always have to wonder though if they've heard it before the video taping. In any case, it was a great evaluation. I found it interesting how they discussed his voice because he does have a very unique sounding voice. His voice tends to break and crack a little towards the end but it lends itself to the vulnerability in this song. My initial take away re: lyrics, was that it was hopeful and that they could still make it work..."There's romance in the sunset".  But the deciding factor for me is the song concludes on the word "end" and the music just ends on that deciding last word and note. (kind of abruptly after the loud fanfare of the musical arrangement).

That is deliberate in my opinion.  Very well crafted and intentional. You can hear it in his voice.. it is not an act.  Thanks Kirk! I love getting back to the music of Eric Carmen on this site, as always.

[LC]

If you read the comments, you find out that the person who requested 'Boats" was Paul Mellette (Paulie Mississippi, as he was known here when he posted regularly). Kudos to Paulie for getting "Boats" a little ink. Good job! But I wonder why he wrote in the comments: "There is a quote from Eric I read somewhere where he states that he always thought of it as a very sad song yet a lot of his fans told him it was very optimistic from their standpoint."

A quote from Eric that he read "somewhere"? Like, at this site?

It was most definitely here that Eric spilled the beans on his intention that "Boats" is a breakup song. I wonder why he couldn't bring himself to mention EC.com.

[Raspbernie]

I always considered "Boats" to have an undercurrent (pun intended) of optimism...because it does.

This bit is and will always be optimistic:

But tomorrow, we'll run a little bit faster
Tomorrow, we're going to find what we're after at last
Feelings that we left in the past
There's romance in the sunset

While this bit certainly puts a negative spin on the hope:

We're boats against the current til the end

But what, in fact, is optimism? Being hopeful about the future? Yes, indeedy.

[James]

Not such a negative spin on the hope....to me it says there will always be obstacles (Boats against the current till the end), but we´re still gonna run a little bit faster tomorrow and find the romance that we´re after in the sunset, at last. Agree that the song contains an optimistic streak.