Despite repeated warnings

Paul McCartney

Part I
1. Despite repeated warnings
Of dangers up ahead
The captain won’t be listening
To what’s being said

2. He feels that there’s a good chance
That we have been misled
And so the captain’s planning
To steam ahead

Bridge 1
What can we do, what can we do
What can we do to stop this foolish plan going through?
What can we do, what can we do? (Yeah, yeah!)
This man is bound to lose his ship and his crew

3. Despite repeated warnings
From those who ought to know
Well, he’s got his own agenda
And so he’ll go

Bridge 2
(What can we do?)
Those who shout the loudest (What can we do?)
May not always be the smartest (What can we do?)
But they have their proudest moments
Right before they fall
(What can we do?)
Red sky in the morning (What can we do?)
Doesn’t ever seem to faze him (What can we do?)
But a sailor’s warning signal
Should concern us all, whoa-oh

Part II
Chorus
How can we stop him?
Grab the keys and lock him up
If we can do it
We can save the day

1. The engineer lives with his wife and daughter, Janet
But he misses them so
Although he’s working with the best crew on the planet (We’re the best crew on the planet!)
They never want him to go

He had a premonition
He senses something’s wrong
And by his own admission
He knew it all along

The captain’s crazy
But he doesn’t let them know it
He’ll take us with him
If we don’t do something soon to slow it

Chorus
How can we stop him?
Grab the keys and lock him up
If we can do it
We can save the day

Bridge
Below decks, the engineer cries
The captain’s gonna leave us when the temperatures rise
The needle’s going up, the engine’s gonna blow
And we are gonna be left down below
Down below

Part III
Instrumental Intro

Chorus
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes we can do it

Instrumental interlude

Chorus
Yes, we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes, we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes, we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Oh yeah

Verse
If life would work out the way you plan it
That’d be so fine for the wife and Janet
Sometimes you might have to battle through it
And that’s the way you learn how you’ve got to do it

Bridge
Yes, we can do it, whoa-oh
Yes, we can do it, whoa-oh-whoa
Yes, we can do it, whoa-oh-whoa
Yes, we can do it, whoa-oh-whoa

Part I reprise
1. Despite repeated warnings
Of dangers up ahead
Well, the captain wasn’t listening
To what was said

Outro
So we went to the captain (What can we do? / For those who shout the loudest)
And we told him to turn around (What can we do? / May not always be the smartest)
But he laughs in our faces (What can we do? / But they have their proudest moments)
Says that we are mistaken (Right before they fall)
So we gather around him (What can we do? / Red sky in the morning)
Now the ropes that have bound him (What can we do? / Doesn’t ever seem to faze him)
Prove that he should have listened (What can we do? / But a sailor’s warning signal) (Should concern us all)
To the will of the people
It’s the will of the people
It’s the will of the people

https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/song/despite-repeated-warnings/