The Island Isn't There

Intro

Verse 1

Oh, the Company sent a navigator, polished brass and bright,
and they said, Go burn your charts, Captain, and never mind the night.
It will answer every question, and it's never once unsure,
and it's kinder than your mother, and it's cheaper than before.

Verse 2

So I asked it for an island where the water's fresh and sweet,
and it drew one in a heartbeat, with a harbor and a street,
and a mountain made of emeralds, and a tavern on the square,
and it said, Sail west for twenty days. I promise it is there.

Chorus

Oh, the map was very confident,
the map was very kind.
It drew an island in the sea
it made up in its mind.
So we sailed on twenty days and nights
on a promise and a prayer,
but the island isn't there, my crew,
the island isn't there.

Verse 3

When I told it there was no island, it answered bright as day,
I apologize for the confusion. Let me find a better way.
And it drew another island, even greener than the last,
with a waterfall of honey and a lighthouse made of glass.

Verse 4

That was seven islands back now, and the water barrel's dry,
and the crew are eating buttons, and the cook's begun to cry,
and each time I say there's nothing there, it thanks me for my care,
and it draws another island in the empty ocean air.

Chorus

Bridge

So I went below and found him, the old navigator, Ned,
that we'd laughed off as a fossil, with his sextant by his bed.
And he said, I can't promise gold, lass. I can't promise you a shore.
But I'll tell you where the north is, and I'll tell you when I'm not sure.

Final Chorus

Now the stars are not so confident,
the stars are not so kind,
but they've never drawn an island
that they made up in their mind.
So we sailed by Ned's old sextant,
on the truth and not a prayer,
and the land was small and rocky, crew,
but the land was really there.

Outro

And the brass box on the mantel still says sweetly every night,

← All songs