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 |
"If a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, I wonder what would happen to this world?" --- Harry Chapin |