We sailed the first great submarine
Sank down in that dark machine, oh yeah
We dove where no one had before
Breathing on the ocean floor, oh yeah
Saw the bottom of the world
It was empty, it was cold
We set the craft ashore
Stood there like the fools we were, oh yeah
Like the fools we were

The violent will of technology
Transcends every boundary, oh yeah
The bright blue sea turns violet and then black
Seven fathoms deep
Yet we dove to harvest pearls
And found a barren reef
So you can build the first great submarine
And still a failure be
Still a failure be

Julius, the engineer
Poured the rum and built the fire, oh yeah
The ocean is vain and she is cruel
And loath to suffer fools
We passed the bottle and we sang
For history and for shame
Behold the bitter monument and
Mourn the deepest diver, spent
The bitter monument

The men all went their separate ways
Mostly back home to the states, so yeah
‘Til just the engineer remained
Where his heart and vessel lay, so yeah
At the low tide, he would meet her
There along the shore
And the wind would echo forth
The beauty of her form and force, oh yeah
Of her form and force

That was 1869
In spring 2001
They found her crusted through with pearls
And heard her quiet song
Heard her song