[Verse 1: Ted Leo]
Had we never come across the vastness of pavement
The barrenness of waves and the grayness of the sea
Never lost or ne'er been misguided
We'd have ne'er reached seas so shining

[Verse 2]
Or come from out of a hansom in Camden
To a bar in the basement
While all the while it rained
Or come around to the friendliest of faces
Handsomest in ugly places

[Verse 3]
Or come from out of the tunnels we dig in
To see that tunneling's not living
And working doesn't work
Or come to find that loving is labor
Labor's life and life's forever

[Verse 4]
Or come to see that keeping's not giving
You get what you've given
You get what you deserve
And in the midst of all of the action
Maybe only there found satisfaction

[Bridge]
Chasing sea-foam dreams
Around another dirty old town
Parallel run streams
Toward the gray ocean from the green ground
'Oed und leer, das meer
But look beneath the glassy surface
All the songs you hear
Down there they have a purpose

[Verse 5]
All in all we cannot stop singing
We cannot start sinking
We swim until it ends
They may kill and we may be parted
But we will ne'er be broken hearted