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

Copyright: BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Writer(s): ELVIS COSTELLO, PADDY MOLONEY