Song for Friday: CSN&Y – Wooden Ships

CSN&Y at their hippy, totally stoned finest, playing Wembley in 1974. Here they are singing Wooden Ships.

This didn’t make the Top 10 Sailing Songs but got an honorable mention. The song was co-written by David Crosby, Steve Stills and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane on Crosby’s boat in Florida. Wikipedia has this to say about it:

Kantner could not be credited on the original release of Crosby, Stills & Nash
due to legal issues, but he is credited on the 2006 re-release. The
song was also released by Jefferson Airplane the same year on the album
Volunteers.
Both versions are considered to be original versions of the song,
although they differ slightly in wording, melody, and considerably in
meaning.

The song depicts the horrors of a post-nuclear war where presumably
two sides have virtually annihilated the world and one man from each
side stumbles upon the other.

The opening line of the song is considered by many fans as being one
for the ages. “If you smile at me I will understand, that is something
everybody everywhere does in the same language” These lyrics are still
printed today on tee shirts at Crosby Stills and Nash and Young
concerts and on various internet stores.

Sailing featured heavily in CSN&Y’s songs because of David Crosby’s love of sailing. According to wikipedia:

Experience with sailing and nautical references provide the basis for
many songs as well, most likely initially driven by Crosby, who learned
to sail at age 11 and lived on a boat for many years.^[26] As seen above, the cover of their 1977 album CSN
shows the three on Crosby’s 80 foot sailboat “Mayan”. Songs which
feature this theme include “Wooden Ships,” Crosby’s “The Lee Shore” and
“Shadow Captain,” Stills’ “Southern Cross,” and Young’s “Through My
Sails”.

Can you tell me please, who won the war?

And no Tillerman this is not one of my bloody competitions.