The Monitor

Once a great ironworks

Stood at the end of my street

And they hauled in The Monitor

Fit her with armor

For to save the union fleet

The River James was on fire

As The Merrimack thundered and raged

And she seemed so colossal and so unstoppable

Until the two engaged

And inside the sound

A deafening din, round after round, again and again

Shattering down, shattering down, shattering down

The neighborhood's quiet at night

But sometimes my ears still ring

And you think I'd understand

That a rock-n-roll band

Doesn't mean a blessed thing

But I picture the poor crew stunned

When the cannons did finally subside

How they stand on the deck

With the sun at their neck

And they wonder if they're still alive

And I try to shout

But none of them hear

They're moving their mouths

But the blood in their ears

Is running down, running down, running down

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

But what then?

It's stunning to know I've survived

But I'm not sure what I'm fighting for anymore

And when I break another string

And continue to sing

Is that courage? I'm not sure.

When the ironclads drifted apart

Still blue and still gray

The men shoveled in the coal

And worked the pumps in the hull

Just like every other day

And none of them knew

Oh, none of them cared

How much it just changed right then and right there

They just carried on, carried on, carried on

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

But what then?

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

And we're singing la da da da da da

But what then?