I walk down to the sea And I saw this crazy man He was looking at me And he said "I have a plan" Yes, he said "I have a plan" He was black from the sun And his eyes were in tears And his hand was so thick From the work of the years Yes, his hand was so thick From the work of the years He said "Please come with me To my home by the sea We can smoke, drink and eat And you'll sit at my feet And I'll tell what I know While the sea breezes blow For I've tried to be free But I'll soon have to go." And his house was his art And, nature, his wish It was sculpted from clay In the shape of a fish It was sculpted from clay In the shape for a fish And the caves in the back Had been arched into stone And the creatures he kept Made him far from alone Yes, the creatures he kept Made him far from alone "I have only one son In Chicago for life He is separate from me And so is my wife And I live in the sun And I hate what they've done To my beautiful sea And what they'll do to me" And we walked from the house For miles by the shore And we picked up the trash That they'd left by his door Yes, we picked up the trash That they'd left by his door And the oil and the sludge Got stuck to my feet And the fish that were dead Were too poisoned to eat Yes, the fish that were dead Were too poisoned to eat And the blade cut his hand And it's stiff from the scar And the butchers, called doctors Leave you worse than you are And we're all like the butchers We cut into life And we like to see blood On the end of our knife And someday they will come And bulldoze him down For he has not a permit From the kings of the town No, he has not a permit From the kings of the town And the doctors will come And say he's afraid And they'll ruin this man And destroy what he made And the pictures he kept Will be torn from his hand With the beautiful house That he built on the sand