[Lyric] So to Speak Broadway Cast Version (Sting)

Father O'Brien:
They're seriously saying it's prolonging me life
If I'll only submit to the surgical knife?
But what are the odds of a month or a week?
When the betting shop's closing its doors, so to speak

When you're laid like a piece of old meat on the slab
And they'll cut and they'll slice, and they'll poke and they'll jab
And they'll grill ye and burn ye, and they'll wish ye good health
With their radium, chemo and God knows what else?

You can't fault the science, though the logic is wеak
Is it really an eternal lifе we should seek?
That ship has sailed, that ship has sailed
That ship has already sailed, so to speak

You must finish the work, son

Gideon:
Ah we're trying, father
Father O'Brien:
I don't mean the men. I mean you. You came home for a reason. Now get to it

Finish the labour son, finish this task
You'll find absolution if you do as I ask
Remember your father, look after your son
He's the bridge to the future, when all's said and done

Gideon:
I came home for a reason that I couldn't see
It was easier fighting the storms out at sea
Yet I'm tied to the wheelhouse til I put this right
The ship of my heart wasn't built for this fight

Both:
But when the ship sails and the course has been set
And the wind's in the offing and sails have been let
The hatches are full and the hull doesn't leak
And the ship is all ready to sail so to speak

Father O'Brien:
I'm tired and fading and losing the light
No way to tell if it's day or it's night
Follow your heart, it's the harbor you seek
And this ship is ready to sail
This ship is ready to sail
This ship is ready to sail
So to speak