[Verse 1]
They said we'd find the future
On the far side of the sea
In a kingdom with no dragons
What wonder could there be?
Back home we'd learned to measure
Every nation by its scales
By the shadows of their wings
And the terror in their tales
So I stood upon the rail
As London disappeared in gray
Wondering what was worth the journey
Half a world away
[Chorus]
Out of the fog came silver giants
Blue-bannered castles of the air
Sailing high where dragons wandered
Claiming kingdoms once theirs
Majestic ships on silent oceans
Far above the world below
Lifting man into the heavens
Where only dragonkind could go
[Verse 2]
Fog lay thick across the harbor
Like a blanket on the tide
Church bells echoed through the silence
From somewhere deep inside
Then a shape began to gather
In the pale and growing light
Not a dragon's wings unfolding
Not a beast prepared to fight
A silver hull came drifting
Like a moon above the bay
Then another followed after
And a fleet sailed on its way
[Chorus]
Out of the fog came silver giants
Blue-bannered castles of the air
Sailing high where dragons wandered
Claiming kingdoms once theirs
Majestic ships on silent oceans
Far above the world below
Lifting man into the heavens
Where only dragonkind could go
[Verse 3]
There were decks beneath their bellies
And the sailors stood in rows
Tiny men above the rooftops
As the mighty vessels rose
They climbed beyond the church towers
Past the smoke and morning rain
And I watched them cross the heavens
Like a fleet across the plain
I'd always thought the dragons
Were the masters of the blue
But standing there beneath them
I wondered what men might do
[Chorus]
Out of the fog came silver giants
Blue-bannered castles of the air
Sailing high where dragons wandered
Claiming kingdoms once theirs
Majestic ships on silent oceans
Far above the world below
Lifting man into the heavens
Where only dragonkind could go
[Bridge]
Perhaps freedom isn't empty skies
Perhaps it's asking what could be
If men can build a ship that sails
Where dragons spread their wings
I came to ask what Britain had
A land without the flame
I left that harbor knowing
The sky would never be the same
[Final Chorus]
Out of the fog came silver giants
Blue-bannered castles of the air
Sailing high where dragons wandered
Boldly climbing everywhere
Majestic ships on endless oceans
Far above the world below
Lifting man into the heavens
Where only dragonkind could go
And though those ships sailed out of sight
Their wonder stayed with me
For I had seen the future
Sailing proudly through the sea