German Sea

Ten nights in a caravan down by the German sea
My father said this was a special holiday for me
Eighteen hours of daylight, but we had to leave the light on
The grey sea and the clouds merge so you can't see the horizon
The smell of manure from the farm, the plastics factory
It looks like photos of East Berlin from the 1970s

We went to the beach, but we didn't go on it
We went to the sea, but we didn't swim in it
And all of your children, they come back to claim you
You try to make it perfect, but somehow they blame you

Got bitten by a squirrel down behind the shower block
I tried to give it a bit of bread, it nearly bit my head clean off
Six hours in emergency, ten stitches on my face
Dad said, "thank you very much for ruining the holiday,"
What, with all the meals out, and entertainment 'cause we're bored
Dad said it would've been cheaper to have an all-expenses trip abroad

We went to the beach, but we didn't go on it
We went to the sea, but we didn't swim in it
La la la, la la la
La la la la
La la la, la la la
La la la la
La la la...
La la la...

There's a kid in a Ronaldo shirt, he lives there with his mum
We start playing together, going through her boyfriend's stuff
We find a box of fireworks past the use-by date
He dares me to set a match to it, explosion nearly blows the gates
We find a baby pike in the palm by the old grandstand
We didn't bring a bucket, I carry it home in my bare hands
Flippin', floppin', trying to breathe, the kid says it will die
But when we get him home, the little thing is still alive
I used to play with my brother here, we used to climb those trees
But that was before the night my father said he had to leave

I saw something moving, was it a sea monster?
I said, "what is that, dad?"
He said, "I can't see what you see,"
Keep all your memories down underwater
Sometimes they surface there out on the shore