Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 — John Mayer

Walt Grace, desperately hating this whole place Dreamed to discover a new space And buried himself alive

Inside his basement Tongue on the side of his face meant He's working away on displacement And what it would take to survive

Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you

And his wife told his kids he was crazy And his friends said he'd fail if he tried But with the will to work hard And a library card He took a home-made, fan blade, one man submarine ride

That morning, the sea was mad and I mean it Waves as big as he'd seen it deep in his dreams at home From dry land, he rolled it over to wet sand Closed the hatch up with one hand And pedalled off alone

Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you

And for once in his life he was quiet As he learned how to turn in the tide And the sky was aflare when he came up for air In his home-made, fan blade, one man submarine ride

One evening, when weeks had passed since his leaving The call she planned on receiving finally made it home She accepted the news she never expected The operator connected the call from Tokyo

Cause when you're done with this world You know the next is up to you

Now his friends bring him up when they're drinking At the bar with his name on the sign And they smile when they can, as they speak of the man Who took a home-made, fan blade, one man submarine ride