Palo Alto

Oh, well, we once ate candied apples and
The yellow jackets chased us near the pier here
And a cement ship sounds crazy, but
The Palo Alto's here for all to see

It was built for World War One
But wasn't done in time for action, so it sat there
At the Oakland, California
Naval Shipyard as a mothballed oddity

Then in 1929 a weird amusement company
Came up with a concept
And they bought it and they brought it here to Aptos
Where they sank it near the shore

Then they built a pier out to it
And it opened as a recreation hot spot
With a cafe and a dance floor and a bandstand
And a swimming pool onboard

Palo Alto
You're a landmark and a dreamboat
Palo Alto
We grew up as you kept crumbling in the sea
Palo Alto
You were brought here as a money-making scheme boat
Palo Alto
But that's not the way the dream turned out to be

Had we not had Prohibition
They might well have made a fortune off the nightlife
Had the boat been serving booze
They could have had that dance floor crowded frequently

When the Great Depression hit
Just like a lot of other companies they went bankrupt
Then the state of California bought it back
And simply chose to let it be

Palo Alto
You're a landmark and a dreamboat
Palo Alto
We grew up as you kept crumbling in the sea
Palo Alto
You were brought here as a money-making scheme boat
Palo Alto
But that's not the way the dream turned out to be
Palo Alto
But that's not the way the dream turned out to be

Palo Alto baby's gone wild and free
Palo Alto baby's got this only sea
Palo Alto baby's gone wild and free
Palo Alto baby's got this only sea