So to Speak

[Verse 1]

They're seriously saying it's prolonging me life

If I'll only submit to the surgical knife?

But what are the odds on a month or a week?

When the betting shop's closing its doors, so to speak

When you're tied to a pump and a breathing machine

With their X-rays and probes and their monitor screens

And they'll wake you up hungry, saying "How do you feel?"

And then you're stuffed full of pills and a barium meal

Prolonging me life? Now that's some kind of joke

I'd be laughing me head off and I'd probably choke

The spirit's still willing but the rest of me's weak

Now the bets are all off and the prospects look bleak

When you're laid like a piece of old meat on the slab

And they'll cut and they'll slice, and they'll poke and they'll jab

And they'll grill ye and burn ye, and they'll wish ye good health

With their radium, chemo and God knows what else?

Well you can't fault the science, though the logic is weak

Is it really an eternal life we should seek?

That ship has sailed[x2]

[Chorus]

That ship has already sailed, so to speak

[Verse 2]

Our mission is more than a struggle for breath

For a few extra rounds in a fight to the death

When our mission is love, and compassion and grace

It's not a test of endurance, or a marathon race

For love is the sabre, and love is the shield

Love is the only true power we wield

An eternal love is all you should seek

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]

I hear what you're saying because I've heard it before

But I'm afraid if I let what is past through my door

How long would he stay, a month or a week

When that ship has already sailed, so to speak?

Should I settle for something that's safe on this Earth?

What would it profit me, what is it worth?

If I lose something precious, completely unique?

When it's only eternity's love we should seek

For when that ship sails, and the course has been set

And the wind's in the offing and the sails have been let

And the hatches are full, and the hull doesn't leak

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

I'm tired and fading and losing the light

And I've no way to tell if it's day or it's night

Follow your heart, it's the harbour you seek

And this ship is ready to sail[x2]

[Chorus]