--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ship is sinking The ship is sinking…" description: "\"The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak, there's a leak,in the boiler room The poor, the lame, the blind Who ore the ones that we kept in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg" --- # The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak… ![“The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak, there's a leak,in the boiler room The poor, the lame, the blind Who ore the ones that we kept in charge Killers, thieves, and lawyers God's Away, God's away God's away on Business” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg) > “The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak, there's a leak,in the boiler room The poor, the lame, the blind Who ore the ones that we kept in charge Killers, thieves, and lawyers God's Away, God's away God's away on Business” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic lament about societal decay and the neglect of vulnerable people amidst corruption and exploitation. **In simple terms:** Society neglects the weak while corrupt powers thrive. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic failures. Themes corruption neglect vulnerability power justice Mood somber critical defiant Type poetic political When to use this quote - political activism - community support - policy reform - ethical journalism - grassroots organizing Key Concepts social critique existential dread urban decay Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect the vulnerable in corrupt systems? - What responsibilities do leaders have to the marginalized? A Different Perspective The quote dramatizes suffering but may oversimplify complex causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Boiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boiler/) [Boiler room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boiler-room/) [God Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-away-815238/) [Killers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killers/) [Lame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lame/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Leaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaks/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Ship Sinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ship-sinking-2678870/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Sinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking/) [Sinking Leak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-leak-5253679/) [Sinking Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-ship/) [Thieves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thieves/) ## Related quotes > [Sex in the nineties is boring. The problem is that it has gone from an active act to a spectator sport. We watch people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/sex-in-the-nineties-is-boring-the-problem-is-that-it-has-gone-from-an/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [If you can't meditate in a boiler room, you can't meditate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-you-can-t-meditate-in-a-boiler-room-you-can-t-meditate/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I used to do boiler room telemarketing for a living, like hardcore fraud stuff that gets busted on 60 Minutes every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/i-used-to-do-boiler-room-telemarketing-for-a-living-like-hardcore/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [Let the fires go out in the boiler room of the church and the place will still look smart and clean, but it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/let-the-fires-go-out-in-the-boiler-room-of-the-church-and-the-place/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Truth is beautiful and divine, no matter how humble its origin; it is the same in the musty boiler-room as it is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihajlo-idvorski-pupin/truth-is-beautiful-and-divine-no-matter-how-humble-its-origin-it-is/) [Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihajlo-idvorski-pupin/) > [I actually live right near a high school and I always walk by...I live in a high school. I actually live in the boiler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-actually-live-right-near-a-high-school-and-i-always-walk-by-i-live/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [My wife Jennifer Todd, who's a producer. She runs Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's company, and she produced Memento, and Boiler Room, and Prime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-messina/my-wife-jennifer-todd-who-s-a-producer-she-runs-matt-damon-and-ben/) [Chris Messina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-messina/) > [I remember somebody had said to me "What're you doing with a movie like Boiler Room? It's all men and you're a woman. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-todd/i-remember-somebody-had-said-to-me-what-re-you-doing-with-a-movie/) [Suzanne Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-todd/) > [Writers collect stories of rituals: John Cheever putting on a jacket and tie to go down to the basement, where he kept a desk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-simpson/writers-collect-stories-of-rituals-john-cheever-putting-on-a-jacket/) [Mona Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-simpson/) > [God's away, God's away, God's away on business. Business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/god-s-away-god-s-away-god-s-away-on-business-business/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Resolve to be merry though the ship were sinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-centlivre/resolve-to-be-merry-though-the-ship-were-sinking/) [Susanna Centlivre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-centlivre/) > [If the ship is sinking, you need help getting off that ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/if-the-ship-is-sinking-you-need-help-getting-off-that-ship/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [“It happens when a ship is sinking, the greatest problem becomes this: that the whole crowd runs toward one direction, they all gather together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/it-happens-when-a-ship-is-sinking-the-greatest-problem-becomes-this/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [We semaphore from ship to ship, but they're sinking, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-semaphore-from-ship-to-ship-but-they-re-sinking-too/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“the moments when one of us was the lifeboat to the other’s ship sinking under the weight of self-hatred, and then us succumbing together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-stenson/the-moments-when-one-of-us-was-the-lifeboat-to-the-other-s-ship/) [Peter Stenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-stenson/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak, there's a leak,in the boiler room The poor, the lame, the blind Who ore the ones that we kept in charge Killers, thieves, and lawyers God's Away, God's away God's away on Business", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking-there-s-leak-there-s-a-leak/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking-there-s-leak-there-s-a-leak/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/tom-waits-916_blind_the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking_1456911.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ship is sinking The ship is sinking There's leak, there's a leak,in the boiler room The poor, the lame…” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The ship is sinking The ship...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking-there-s-leak-there-s-a-leak/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-ship-is-sinking-the-ship-is-sinking-there-s-leak-there-s-a-leak/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```