"So To Speak" lyrics

[Father O'Brian:]
They're seriously saying it's prolonging me life
If I'll only submit to the surgical knife?
But what are the odds on a month or a week?
When the betting shop's closing its doors, so to speak
When you're tied to a pump and a breathing machine
With their X-rays and probes and their monitor screens
And they'll wake ye up hungry, saying "How do ye feel?"
And then you're stuffed full of pills and a barium meal

Prolonging me life? Now that's some kind of joke!
I'd be laughing me head off and I'd probably choke
The spirit's still willing but the rest of me's weak
Now the bets are all off and the prospects look bleak
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?

Well ye can't fault the science, though the logic is weak
Is it really an eternal life we should seek?
That ship has sailed
That ship has sailed
That ship has already sailed...So to speak

Our mission is more than a struggle for breath
For a few extra rounds in a fight to the death
When our mission is love, and compassion and grace
It's not a test of endurance, or a marathon race
For love is the sabre, and love is the shield
Love is the only true power we wield
An eternal love is all ye should seek
That ship will be ready to sail...So to speak

[Meg:]
I hear what you're saying 'cause I've heard it before
But I'm afraid if I let what is past through my door
How long would he stay, a month or a week
When that ship has already sailed, so to speak?
Should I settle for something that's safe on this Earth?
What would it profit me, what is it worth?
If I lose something precious, completely unique?

[Meg & O'Brian:]
When it's only eternity's love we should seek

For when that ship sails, and the course has been set
And the wind's in the offing and the sails have been let
And the hatches are full, and the hull doesn't leak
And the ship is all ready to sail...So to speak

[O'Brian:]
I'm tired and fading and losing the light
And I've no way to tell if it's day or it's night

[Meg:]
Follow your heart, it's the harbour ye seek

[O'Brian:]
And this ship is ready to sail
This ship is ready to sail

[Meg & O'Brian:]
This ship is ready to sail...So to speak