Thirty Summers

Lyrics

Caught in the vice of heaven and earth He turned his life into a cell Imprisoned by the doubts which hound us all And those desires which we all know so well His days, he lost to promises His nights, he purged of dreams And he would wake in the hours before sunrise And dread the coming of the day Never thought a man could become so desperate Never thought a life could lose so much hope To be tearing at the roots around you As if in manacles, or irons, or ropes They say he told his children That all he taught was lost And that love and pride and honesty Were to be gained at too high a cost It's been thirty summers that I've spent with him And I expect thirty more to pass He has blessed my life in so many ways That I could never turn my back But I need just one more reminder Of the man that he used to be If he would just look deep into my eyes And say it's in you, my love, that I will find the key