Trying to navigate the waves
But we can barely keep afloat.
The mad captain's at the helm
Of the burning boat.
He's saluting all the passengers,
He thinks he's still in charge
While the water's pouring through the holes
In this rusty, leaky barge.

The weather's looking threatening,
We're heading for a storm.
The crew are all crossing themselves,
Wishing they'd never left the port.
Meanwhile in the captain's lounge
He's bursting into song.
The wine is going to his head
And he thinks there's nothing wrong.

You can turn a pearl into an oyster
And a diamond into dirt.
Precious into worthless,
A butterfly into a worm.
No matter what you turn your hand to
Bad turns into worse.

Now the debts are piling up
And the bills keep rolling in.
The people want what they are owed,
Their patience wearing thin.
But you're ignoring all the warning signs
And it just won't sink in.
You just carry on regardless
Until you've lost everything.

You can turn a feast into a famine
And a harvest into drought.
Abundance into deficit,
Till everything runs out.
We know that it will all go wrong,
The only question is just how.

You can turn a limousine into a hearse
And turn a rainbow grey,
A thing that once was precious
Into one you couldn't give away.
Now we're salvaging what we can save
Before it all goes down the drain.

A pearl into an oyster
And a diamond into dirt.
Precious into worthless,
A butterfly into a worm.
No matter what you turn your hand to
Bad turns into worse.