There's a man saying words over a body, and the words that he says are not his own,
And his candle is so small, and the darkness is a liquid that surrounds us all,
And the man, who is old, has never married,
And the man has no children of his own,
But strangers call him father, and they speak to him of darkness in their souls.

Swimming toward the light,
High above, I see it from the corner of my eye,
Pulling toward the light,
Trapped in this cavern, swimming hard with all my might,
Holding my breath just as long as I can,
'Til I get there, 'til I get there,
Holding my breath just as long as I can,
'Til I get there and the light is everywhere.

Downtown there is a loud commotion, and a crowd is waving flags along the street,
The bubble car glides by and the man who sits inside is so alone,
His faith is real, his name is borrowed, and it is borrowed time he's living on,
And he's feeling pretty tired and a little uninspired, if the truth be known.

Swimming toward the light,
In the distance he can see it from the corner of his eye,
Pulling toward the light,
Trapped here underwater, swimming hard with all his might,
Holding his breath just as long as he can,
'Til he gets there, 'til he gets there,
Holding his breath just as long as he can,
'Til he gets there, 'til he gets there,
Holding his breath just as long as he can,
'Til he gets there, 'til he gets there,
Holding his breath just as long as he can,
'Til he gets there and the light is everywhere.

There's a house in the city no one stays in, though visitors always come and go,
And they say that God lives there, but God lives everywhere ' this I know,
Candlelight is spreading like a wildfire,
Suddenly we're caught up in its glow,
There's one they say who came all the way from outer space to lead us home.

Swimming toward the light,
Leading us to safety like a beacon in the night,
Pulling toward the light,
Deep down in this darkness we are fighting for our lives,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there, 'til you get there,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there, 'til you get there,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there, 'til you get there,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there, 'til you get there,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there, 'til you get there,
Hold on just as long as you can,
'Til you get there and the light is everywhere.