(Composed: Elvis Costello/Paddy Moloney) 

If on every ocean the ship is a throne 

And for each mast cut down another sapling is grown 

Then I could believe that I'm bound to find 

A better life than I left behind 



But as you ascend the ladder 

Look out below where you tread 

For the colors bled as they overflowed 

Red, white and blue 

Green, white and gold 



So I had to leave from my country of birth 

As for each child grown tall 

Another lies in the earth 

And for every rail we laid in the loam 

There's a thousand miles of the long journey home 



But as you ascend the ladder 

Look out below where you tread 

For the colors bled as they overflowed 

Red, white and blue 

Green, white and gold