White Star Line

You wake up in the suffocating Arabic darkness
Dragging the river of your very soul
You emerge from troubled dreams with your head held very gently
Thick like clotted blood in a golden bowl

Who promised you that?
Who's paying for it?
What's waiting out there?

The soldiers in the village were sleeping in the sun
The White Star Line comes steaming in upon its midnight run
You're standing in the mirror, that reflection is insane
My love is the peace which takes away the pain

You know that you must fly out, out of this life of nightmares
Whose spirit breath surrounds you in the blackened night
The horses are uneasy, the weapon is untried
You'll have to go on guessing 'til you reach the other side

Who promised you that?
Who's paying for it?
What's waiting out there?

The monkeys in the jungle are playing with a gun
The White Star Line comes steaming in upon its midnight run
You're reaching for the light, boy, which the night has neatly slain
My love is the peace which takes away the pain

Up you go, you're drifting, up you go, you're floating
Over Tunisia, over Spain
Over Germany, over Poland
Over Scandinavia and back again

Who promised you that?
Who's paying for it?
What's waiting out there?

The notices and frescoes have faded in the sun
The White Star Line comes steaming in upon its midnight run
You can't believe it's over with no loss or gain
My love is the peace which takes away the pain