Years ago a child's brown eyes stared at the mantlepiece And wondered how the ship got in the bottle When he tried to find the answers nobody would tell him And the ship just sat there in the bottle
Yesterday a man's brown eyes stared at the mantlepiece And stared at the ship in the bottle The corners of his eyes teared when at last he realized He was sailing on that ship in the bottle
Chorus: I'm sailin' on that ship in the bottle with No salt upon my pitch, or wind in my sails I'm sailing on that ship in the bottle Could there be a storm brewin' up ahead Could there be a storm brewin' up ahead
The ship in the bottle never gets to run ashore It sits there on the mantle piece like it sat there years before No cargo in its hull, no silver and gold No leeward winds ahead my skin, no cannons to reload
(Chorus)
The ship in the bottle is a reflection of me Showin' me all of the things my eyes could never see But still I wish and search for strength to set my spirit free And take that dream on the mantle piece and sail it on the sea
(Chorus)