[Verse 1]
Well, I wasn't just one kid standin' on another kid's shoulders in a trench coat, you'd be in trouble, buddy
If I was an innertube rollin' down the quad city rivers in the summer, I'd be huntin' somethin' tubby
To the coast where the bones peek up like the ship ribs
I played hide and seek with the bleach-boned kids
They asked who I was, and so I ran and hid
They asked who I was, so I ran and I hid

[Chorus]
In the belly of the whale with a candle and a pen
The belly of the whale with a candle and a pen
And it's my lucky day when the tide rolls in
The new ribcages of the dead young men

[Verse 2]
Mandibles and bows and sterns
Captains that it seems like they're never gonna learn
I gotta go back, I don't care if this is killin' me
I gotta go back, you're unbearable like this
I gotta go back, 'cause goddamnit, you're right
I didn't wanna wake up in this place tonight
And now all I hear is the bitchin' and moanin'
And fools barely keepin' up with where they're come-and-goin'

[Guitar Solo]
[Bridge]
This tired argument is the only one you'll ever know
I gotta get goin'
My path is a-showin', and it's a long way home

[Chorus]
To the belly of the whale with a candle and a pen
The belly of the whale with a candle and a pen
And it's my lucky day when the tide rolls in
The new ribcages of the dead young men
Alright, the new ribcages of the dead young men
Yeah, the new ribcages of the dead young men
Come on, the new ribcages of the dead young men
The new ribcages of the dead young men