I’ve sailed upon this wilderness all my life
This sea has taught me everything I’ve learned
It’s taken from me everything I ever had
And all I ever had has been returned
Hard weather howled horizon to horizon
Tackle overboard and lost for good
Fearsome creatures prowling in my wake each day
Sun and stars still found me when they could
So many islands green and fair crossed my bow
So many times I thought to go ashore
But not one held the port I knew awaited me
One by one they fell astern forevermore
The time has come to furl my sails and ship the oars
Time to end this life on brine and foam
My time’s been spent in just the way it should have been
And now’s the time, and now, oh now I’m home
someone else I know died and this one sort of forced itself out
I don’t believe in any angel of death
Don’t believe in any great Grim Reaping
I know it comes to us all
But I believe what some folks call
Eternity ain’t forever, they’re only sleeping
I don’t believe in Fates snipping threads
I don’t believe your time has gotta come
If it was set at birth
What’s living worth?
That’d be unfair to the smart, too kind to the dumb
I made a choice to write and sing this song
And you can choose to listen
Or even sing along
We’re making our own way
Every day
Doing what’s right
And knowing what’s wrong
Songs like this sorta make you squirm
No one likes to talk about the end
Hey, I’m with you
I’m uncomfortable too
And we’ll both get through it talking friend to friend
I made a choice to write and sing this song
And you can choose to listen
Or even sing along
We’re making our own way
Every day
Doing what’s right
And knowing what’s wrong
We’ve all lost someone we love, and we miss ’em
The hole some people leave is surreal
While I’m done singing this rhyme
You ought to take the time
To tell the folks you love the way you feel
I made a choice to write and sing this song
And you can choose to listen
Or even sing along
We’re making our own way
Every day
Doing what’s right
And knowing what’s wrong
He drove the harpoon into its great white head
Over and over and it still wasn’t dead
Tangled in the lines as the beast went down
If he didn’t kill it now he was gonna drown
Maniacal hatred for he great white whale
The end of its life was the end of his tale
What if the whale had loved Ahab?
It’d never submerge
If the whale had loved Ahab
It’d give up the deep
So Ahab could keep—
If the whale had loved Ahab
Been able to purge
The notions that surge and flood
In the blood
If the whale had loved Ahab
We’d be on the verge
Might take the leap
Maybe we’d all keep
Breathing
Life and death for the captain and crew
It was life and death for the great whale, too
It wasn’t a hunt to fill any need
It was vengeance, it was anger, it was lust, it was greed
He vowed to hunt it to the end of the sea
And now it’s life and death for you and me
What if the whale had loved Ahab?
It’d never submerge
If the whale had loved Ahab
It’d give up the deep
So Ahab could keep—
If the whale had loved Ahab
Been able to purge
The notions that surge and flood
In the blood
If the whale had loved Ahab
We’d be on the verge
Might take the leap
Maybe we’d all keep
Breathing
What would you do with forever?
What would you do if you never had to worry about
the future or past
Or if all of the things that mattered would last?
How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?
What would you do with forever?
When you’re dreaming your dreams do you ever
Stop to wonder if this life would always go on
What would you do after all of your problems were gone?
How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?
You ask what I mean
You ask me if it’s really true
I know it’s hard to believe
But there’s some questions I’d like to ask you:
Does it make any sense to live 80 short years
Every one full of trouble and tears
Does it make any sense that our lives are so brief
All we want is the joy And we get so much grief
It’s in everyone’s heart, The desire to live
With heads, hands, and hearts we have so much to give
So why on earth shouldn’t we
Live forever?
What would you do with forever?
What would you do if you never had to worry about
the future or past
Or if all of the things that mattered would last?
How would you live from now on?
How would it change how you spend all your time?
Would you do more or less Of each thing you do now?
Can’t keep looking back with your hand on the plow.
How would you live forever if you started right now?
Not at all happy with my voice on this one. Need a do-over when I’m feeling better.
