On a cold winter's morning
In a pool at my college
I met up with the swimmer
We were both up to compete
So we both started lookin'
At our feet on the starting blocks
The coach gave us the signal
And he began to speak

He said, "Dude, I've found my life
Out of winnin' lots of races
Knowin' what the strokes were
By the way they took their marks
So if you don't mind my sayin'
I see no gold in your cases
For a bite of your power bar
I'll give you some advice

So I handed him my wrapper
And he chomped down my last chunky
Then he bummed a pool buoy
And asked me for a line
And the deck got terribly noisy
And his face gained much expression
Said, "If you're gonna win the meet, bro
You gotta learn to do it right

You've got to know when to IM
Know when to free/M
Know when to butterfly
And know when to back
You never go your race pace
When you're swimmin' in the fast lane
They'll be time enough for race pace
When the meet is done

Every swimmer knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' when to do taper
And knowin' when to not
'Cause every stud's an athlete
And every stud's a fair sport
And the best that one can hope for
Is to get enough sleep"

And when he finished speakin'
He jumped out of the pool
Put back his pool buoy
And headed for the shower
And sometime in the future
The swimmer he'll help me win
But in those final words
I found a medal I could keep

You've got to know when to IM
Know when to free/M
Know when to butterfly
And know when to back
You never go your race pace
When you're swimmin' in the fast lane
They'll be time enough for race pace
When the meet is done

You've got to know when to IM (when to IM)
Know when to free/M (when to free/M)
Know when to butterfly
And know when to back
You never go your race pace
When you're swimmin' in the fast lane
They'll be time enough for race pace
When the meet is done

You've got to know when to IM
Know when to free/M
Know when to butterfly
And know when to back
You never go your race pace
When you're swimmin' in the fast lane
They'll be time enough for race pace
When the meet is done