With trust in your heart and a bucket of dreams You'll spend all of your life sowing cuts into seams Though you float in the deep with holes in the deck You'll flirt with the hangman with rope 'round your neck To keep up the pace without ending in sight Can't plug the holes although try as you might 'Til you lessen the pace as age takes its toll And your boat sinks a little, along with your soul It's a race that we face 'til the end of our days In life, insurmountable life Tell the boy at your feet to try hard to achieve And may you find luck and a card up your sleeve Keep a weathered eye out for the chance in the dark And then if you're lucky, you'll rattle your heart But you know that it's hard as you smile all the while You're fearful of smudging the shine in his eye There's a voice in your heart, it tells a tale of regret So you scream down the sounds 'til you're silent and yet It's a race that we face 'til the end of our days In life, insurmountable life ♪ It's a race that we face 'til the end of our days In life, insurmountable life And so now, my lovelies, let's get one thing right Don't waste all your time turning days into nights Don't polish a coal with a gem-studded rag You'll stumble on stones, throwing good after bad And after you've grown and I'm swimming in sand If you're surfing the city or working the land Look down in those eyes looking up in respect And then smile as you realize you give what you get Take a knee and you tell him the truth old as time Reassuring the young is like leading the blind Together you'll cry through the valleys and peaks Then you'll say your goodbyes just as sure as you lied And God knows you tried, how you tried and you tried It's a race that we face 'til the end of our days It's a trial we sustain, it's an old ball and chain It's a game that we play, how we pay and we pay In life, insurmountable life This beautiful life This wonderful life