Like rusty old nails at the bottom of the sea Telling no tales, for the good of the admiralty You jump when you're told to through the open door And the King of Norway, he's the man you all died for On this, Jacob's ladder The only way up is down Three days in the water Watching all the secrets drown Jacob's ladder And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain A thousand lifetimes, left standing at the docks In the bar down in Whitehall, they're sure the boat won't rock In a file marked secret's in a drawer kept closed Nobody wonders because nobody knows On this Jacob's ladder The only way up is down Three days in the water Watching all the secrets drown Jacob's ladder And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain, to be slain And they sent him to the wars to be slain On this Jacob's ladder The only way up is down Three days in the water Watching all the secrets drown On this Jacob's ladder The only way up is down Three days in the water Watching all the secrets drown Jacob's ladder Sooner or later We'll dig up the body and try your cadaver Sooner or later We'll dig up the body and try your cadaver Sooner or later Jacob's ladder