Oh, captain, what are we hiding from?
You've been hiding from the start.
Did some lover steal your heart,
Or did the full moon make you mad?

Oh, captain, why these speechless seas
That never seem to land?
Oh I need to understand.
Could a little light be that bad?

I can see your hands are roughened
By the wheel and the rope.
I'd like to look to you for hope,
I think it's hiding there.
This boat is blacked out like a city
Awaiting bombers in the night.
Oh you hold your helm so tight,
And yet the sky seems so fair.

Who guides this ship
Dreaming through the seas
Turning and searching,
Whichever way you please?
Speak to me, I need to see your face,
Shadowy captain, in a darkened space.

If I were to spy a city
Floating just above the sea,
Could we stop
And look for me
Among those playing on the pier?

Or would you turn away knowing,
It was still a ways away,
And if I was there today
you could not see me all that clear.

Shadowy captain of a charcoal ship,
Trying to give the light the slip.