THE SHIP THAT SAILS IN A BOTTLE

[INTRO – SOLO CELLO, DISTANT WIND AND SHIP'S BELL] [LOW WAVES, WOOD CREAKING, A FAINT GHOSTLY CHOIR] [WHISPERED MALE VOICE] A bottle on a shelf... A ship upon a sea... Look closely, little sailor... It's looking back at thee. [VERSE 1 – SLOW, HAUNTED NAUTICAL WALTZ] Inside a bottle, old and green, A ghostly ship rides waves unseen. Its tattered sails reach for the sky, Its dead crew watch as storms roll by. No wind can reach it, none can flee, No shore, no port, no open sea. Yet every night, when clocks strike two, The little ship sails straight toward you. [PRE-CHORUS – CELLO RISES, SHIP'S BELLS RING] The glass begins to shake and shine, The waves climb up the bottle's spine. A hundred voices rise and call... There's room aboard for one and all! [CHORUS – HUGE GHOSTLY SAILOR CHOIR, GRAND ORGAN] SAIL, SAIL, THE SHIP OF THE DEAD! OVER BLACK WAVES WHERE THE LOST ARE LED! ROLL, ROLL, THE THUNDERING SEA! TRAPPED IN A BOTTLE FOR ETERNITY! HEAVE-HO! THE MOON HANGS LOW! NO WAY BACK AND NOWHERE TO GO! LOOK THROUGH THE GLASS, IF YOU DARE TO SEE... THE GHOST SHIP'S CREW IS CALLING FOR THEE! [POST-CHORUS – LOW SAILOR CHOIR] Heave... ho... Where the dead winds blow... Heave... ho... There's no way home... [VERSE 2 – BOUNCY BASSOON, CREAKING WOOD AND BELLS] The captain wears a crown of rust, His bones are bound in salt and dust. He steers by stars that no one knows, Through endless storms where no dawn grows. The tiny waves begin to swell, The bottle rings like a warning bell. You blink once, twice — the ship draws near... And now its captain's face is clear. [PRE-CHORUS – FASTER TICKING, RISING ORGAN] A shadow moves behind the mast, A skeletal hand against the glass. The captain smiles, his eyes burn blue... He's found a sailor, and it's you! [CHORUS – BIGGER, MORE CHAOTIC] SAIL, SAIL, THE SHIP OF THE DEAD! OVER BLACK WAVES WHERE THE LOST ARE LED! ROLL, ROLL, THE THUNDERING SEA! TRAPPED IN A BOTTLE FOR ETERNITY! HEAVE-HO! THE MOON HANGS LOW! NO WAY BACK AND NOWHERE TO GO! LOOK THROUGH THE GLASS, IF YOU DARE TO SEE... THE GHOST SHIP'S CREW IS CALLING FOR THEE! [INSTRUMENTAL BREAK – SOLO CELLO, STORM EFFECTS, SHIP'S BELLS, HAUNTED PIPE ORGAN, GHOSTLY SAILOR CHANT] [BRIDGE – QUIET, SLOW, ALMOST SPOKEN] I turned the bottle upside down, The sea went dark, the waves fell down. I thought I'd stopped that cursed old sea... Then something knocked from inside of me. [THREE SOFT KNOCKS ON GLASS] I heard the captain whisper low... [WHISPERED VOICE] "There's just one place we have to go." [PAUSE – DISTANT THUNDER] "Beyond the glass... Where the living go." [FINAL CHORUS – GRAND, THEATRICAL, FULL GHOST CHOIR] SAIL, SAIL, THE SHIP OF THE DEAD! OVER BLACK WAVES WHERE THE LOST ARE LED! ROLL, ROLL, LET THE DARK TIDE RISE! A STORM IN A BOTTLE, A SEA IN DISGUISE! HEAVE-HO! THE MOON HANGS LOW! THE CAPTAIN'S CALLING — DON'T YOU GO! LOOK THROUGH THE GLASS, IF YOU DARE TO SEE... [ALL MUSIC CUTS OUT] [WHISPERED MALE VOICE] Something's missing from the bottle... [ONE SHIP'S BELL] [WHISPERED VOICE] The ship. [OUTRO – SOLO CELLO, DISTANT WAVES] [SOFT WOODEN CREAKING] [ONE GHOSTLY SAILOR WHISPERS] "All aboard..." [GLASS TINKLES SOFTLY] [END]