English Channel

We turned around, we were headin' south

We were tryin' to get off the island

Wishin' for a sky without any clouds

With a big nice bright sun shinin'

We found a spot in a soggy swamp

And set up our tiny tent

Our feet were wet again

But we were gettin' used to it

Our feet were always wet

A man drove by in a silver car

With a mean look on his face

He looked at us in the rear-view

And then he hit the breaks

We walked up to the open window

Not knowin' what to think

But he wanted to know where we were goin'

And see if it was on his way

We told him we were goin' to Dover

And hopefully over to France that night

He said, "So am I, hop in

And I'll give you a ride"

And we were on our way

He said he stopped to pick us up

Because we looked so out of luck

He was havin' a bad day too

But he thought we had him beat

It was his philosophy that if you see

Someone in a worse way than you

It's your ethical obligation

To stop and see what you can do

I wish that everyone thought that too

He asked if we had our tickets

And when our boat would leave

We confessed we didn't know that yet

And we'd get there then we'd see

He said, "You should just ride with me

Because passengers ride free

It takes a couple of hours

And I could use the company"

So could we, so could we

But he was goin' to Belgium

And we were goin' to France

But we decided to change our plans

'Cause you don't pass up a chance like that

We got there late and he was pissed

That he missed the hovercraft

If he'd have to take the slow boat

Then he would ride first class

Our bad luck was gone at last

We got to the lonely lobby

And we filled our packs with snacks

They were free, those pastries

And those drinks would weight our backs

He could see our hesitation

We were concerned about bein' rude

He said, "Take as much as you can hold, kids

I was once like you

I have been there too"

We got aboard the ferry

And they took us to our seats

Which were basically in a nice restaurant

And it looked like we were gonna get to eat

They brought us priceless menus

And they brought us more drinks

We were the only dirty kids there

With our big backpacks and stinky feet

So we ate our three-course meal

And talked to our new-found friend

We told him about the music we played

He was an electrician

He asked where we planned to sleep that night

We said we had no clue

He said, "I'll drop you off by the side of the road

That's what I used to do

I was once like you"