Walt Grace, desperately hating his old place
dreamed to discover a new space
and buried himself alive
inside his basement
the tongue on the side of his face meant
he’s working away on displacement
and what it would take to survive
‘Cause when you’re done with this world
you know the next is up to you
And his wife told his kids he was crazy
and his friends said
he’d fail if he tried
but with the will to work hard
and a library card
he took a homemade, fan blade
one-man submarine ride
That morning the sea was mad
and I mean it
waves as big as he’d seen it
deep in his dreams at home
from dry land, he rolled it
over to wet sand
closed the hatch up with one hand
and pedaled off alone
‘Cause when you’re done with this world
you know the next is up to you
And for once in his life, it was quiet
as he learned how to turn in the tide
and the sky was aflare
when he came up for air
in his homemade, fan blade
one-man submarine ride
One evening, when weeks
had passed since his leaving
the call she planned on receiving
finally made it home
she accepted the news she never expected
the operator connected the call from Tokyo
’cause when you’re done with this world
you know the next is up to you
Now his friends bring him up
when they’re drinking
at the bar with his name on the side
and they smile when they can
as they speak of the man
who took a homemade, fan blade
one-man submarine ride