Music & Lyrics
Let Me Grow Old
Some people wish for romance on a Gable-Lombard scale
Or for money that can buy their richest dreams
But I don’t wish for seas to sail, or mountain tops to climb
I close my eyes at night, and wish for time
Let me grow old, let me grow wise,
Let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me spin stories as I hold court in my chair
Let me knit yards and yards of yesterdays to gather round my knees
And woven in the pattern is a message: I was there.
Some people thirst for knowledge, or a framed advanced degree
That can trumpet I’m important, can’t you tell
But I don’t wish for accolades for insights so sublime
I close my eyes at night and wish for time
Let me grow old, let me grow wise, let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me quilt memories, every one a vibrant square
Each one a friend I’ve known and cherished, or a love I’ve won or lost
And embroidered in the blanket is a message: I was there
Before you paint a painting, you need a surface clean
Before you write a book, you need a page
Before your picture dances on the canvas that is life
You must paint the picture with the brush of age
Oh, and some crave admiration, acknowledgment of wit
They revel in the turning of a phrase,
And though the poet in me, yearns to find that perfect rhyme
I close my eyes at night, and wish for time
Let me grow old, let me grow wise, let lines of laughter crease my eyes
Let me hold children as they clutch my wintry hair
Let me knit yards and yards of yesterdays, so when the last comes round
I’ll take the yards and yards of yesterdays and lay them on the ground
And in some faraway tomorrow, when my cast-off scarf is found,
Unwind it and you’ll find there is a message:
I was there