Octopus

The octopus has 3 hearts
And lives in caves below the sea
Or in a beer can or a bath tub
Or a puddle in the street

Any fisherman can tell you
When an octopus waves its arms
It hypnotizes schools of fish
All movement stops for miles

Even the waves stand still
All the witnesses have sworn
And it’s impossible to resist
The urge to jump overboard

That’s why I try and stay away
From seashore holidays

But I know that no one has to know
If I take an evening stroll
Down to the end of the wooden peer
Where the water’s deep and cold

If I should see an octopus
Lift its arms out of the sea
Or see its shadow rising up
Cross the rooftops above the streets

I’d follow those dancing limbs
To the spinning edge of the sky
Where all the boats fall off the world
Into the octopus’s eye

That’s why I know I shouldn’t go
On a cruise across the sea

But I know that no one has to know
If I take an evening stroll
Down to the end of the wooden peer
Where the water’s deep and cold

That’s why I try and stay away
From seashore holidays

But I know that no one has to know
If I take an evening stroll
Down to the end of the wooden peer
Where the water’s deep and cold