The Lifeboat's Empty!

Album: When I Close My Eyes (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Titanic originally had enough lifeboats; the authorities subsequently removed 44 to make the ship look less cluttered. Then, when the Titanic started sinking, many of the remaining 20 lifeboats left half-full. Here, a reflective Chelsea Cutler uses avoidable deaths on the sinking Titanic as a metaphor for a failing relationship that could be saved.

    I can't go back to the way things were before
    And I can't breathe down here, when did we get so heavy?
    Tell me why we're drowning still when the lifeboat's empty
  • Cutler wrote the song with Detroit producer and electronic musician ayoka, singer-songwriter Quinn XCII, and Hazey Eyes. Ayoka and Quinn XCII are childhood friends and frequently work together, including on Quinn XCII's breakthrough song "Another Day In Paradise."

    Cutler also produced the track with ayokay and Hazey Eyes.
  • Cutler recorded "The Lifeboat's Empty!" for the deluxe edition of her second album, When I Close My Eyes, which features its previous 13 songs and three new tracks.
  • Several other artists have recorded songs inspired by the sinking of the Titanic. Some are literal accounts, others use it as a metaphor for a drowning relationship. They include:

    "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion

    "Tempest" by Bob Dylan

    "Band Played On" by Joe Walsh

    "S.O.S." by Saxon

    "The Ship" by Brian Eno

    "Titanic" by Juice WRLD

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