In a shed down by the docks Lives a very clever box And its children will One day rule the world Only one man knows The potential that it shows How its DNA will spread Throughout the globe He has tried but can't explain What it's for and what's its aim As it clicks and clacks Through algebra and sums Though built with his own hands He can't truly understand Its importance to the future, To mankind Vive la Difference Engine, Engine, Lurking in a Limehouse Backstreet shed! Future events are set in motion Watch the machine's First faltering steps It will analyse statistics Whilst you have your tea and biscuits Predict probable outcomes Of events Deep inside it knows Its calculations show That its descendants will attain sentience And when Mr Babbage dies His caretaker will try To hide the box from spies From overseas If it falls in the wrong hands It could threaten England Its existence must remain A mystery Vive la Difference Engine, Engine, Lurking in a Limehouse Backstreet shed! Future events are set in motion Watch the machine's first faltering steps Vive la Difference Engine, Engine, Lurking in a Limehouse Backstreet shed! Future events are set in motion Watch the machine's first faltering steps