Bill Pere Lyrics

Another Touch of Gray words and music by Bill Pere

The alarm clock says it's dawn
I creak up out of bed and put my work boots on
for another day of working in that same old place...
I slip out, but she doesn't hear; She's not heard for eighteen years
And the only thing that's different from yesterday
Is Another touch of Gray and a wrinkle on my face

At five o'clock I get in my car
And I wash away the day at the local bar
amidst the tumblin' down tiles and the timeworn smiles
'Bout halfway through my gin, I stopped and stared at what walked in
Sweet sixteen at most, just lookin' out for some fun
Begging for someone to make her feel like a woman for awhile

And just in that moment she made me feel like a kid again
Days of new blue jeans, summer scenes, ice cream every day...
Whatever anyone calls fun, you know I did it then
But jeans and dreams and the scenes, it seems, like the ice cream, melt away

She whispered in my ear,
And I tingled as her words rolled back the years
I remembered the encounters of my youth;
We went up to a little room, oppressive in its gloom
She saw a question in my eyes and she said as she smiled
"Am I a woman or a child? You're about to learn the truth..."

And just in that moment she made me feel like a kid again
Days of new blue jeans, summer scenes, ice cream every day...
Whatever anyone calls fun, you know I did it then
But jeans and dreams and the scenes, it seems, like the ice cream, melt away

She was good at the games she played
But in the corner of my mind, still a question stayed
And with a voice beyond her years she said "You got something to say?"
As she fed her golden thread through the comb
I asked her if she missed her home,
As she winced I knew my question landed like a knife
What kind of life could make young and pretty girl run away?

In the darkness her answer hung
She was tired of being poor and tired of being young
But instead of saving pennies she saved up her years...
Yeah, her folks loved her, but she thought it strange,
They didn't want for her ever to change
It seemed they'd never let her grow, and they'd just criticize
When the childness in her eyes gave way to adolescent tears...

And just in that moment she made me feel like a kid again
Days of new blue jeans, summer scenes, ice cream every day...
Whatever anyone calls fun, you know I did it then
But jeans and dreams and the scenes, it seems, like the ice cream, melt away

It was late so we said goodbye
But as she saw the ceiling light skip off the water in my eye
She looked and said "you know, being grow up is being free..."
Your wife will never know,
No you don't have to tell her where you go
No, you don't have it bad... " She put the bill in her purse.
"It could be worse...you could be just a kid like me..."

But she was so far from the truth
I'd have given anything for just a fraction of her youth
And on my way back home it seemed that time picked up its pace
I slip in, but she doesn't hear
She's not heard for a hundred years
And the only thing that's different from yesterday
Is another touch of gray and two wrinkles on my face....

© Bill Pere. All Rights Reserved