there’s a wall on my street, and the people on the two sides never meet,
runnin’ down the middle, West to East..
and there’s a hill in my town where you’ll never go unless that’s where you’re from,
it’s not the choice between points A and B..

I should’ve been a sailor,
I should have run away to sea,
I could’ve been a sailor,
maybe that’s what I was supposed to be..

have you ever noticed how this tired city’s prettier at night
when the colors drain into the street?..
like the greyest roses, in a photograph, they’re trapped in black and white,
but we know how red they used to be..

I should’ve been a sailor,
I should have run away to sea,
I could’ve been a sailor,
maybe that’s what I was supposed to be…
we watched a film about a trip around the world,
that’s enough to break the heart of any boy or girl..
who should’ve been a sailor..

somewhere there are children building Viking ships just to get away from this,
may they find a new world someday soon..
so they can show the rest of us, left behind to figure out this mess,
how to shake a shapeless afternoon..

I should’ve been a sailor,
I should have run away to sea,
I could’ve been a sailor,
maybe that’s what I was supposed to be…
we watched a film about a trip around the world, (I should’ve been a sailor)
we watched a film about a trip around the world…