Years

I went home for Christmas

To the house that I grew up in

Going back was something after all these years

I drove down Monterey Street

And felt a little sadness

When I turned left on Laurel and the house appeared

And I snuck up to that rocking chair

Where the winter sunlight slanted on the screened-in porch

And I stared out past the shade tree

That my laughing daddy planted on the day that I was born

And I let time go by so slow

And I made every moment last

And I thought about years

How they take so long

And they go so fast

Across the street the Randol's oldest daughter must have come home

Her two boys built a snowman by the backyard swings

I thought of old man Randol and his Christmas decorations

And how he used to leave them up till early spring

And I though of all the summers

That I paced that porch and swore I'd die of boredom there

And I thought of what I'd give to feel another summer linger

Where a day feels like a year

And I let time go by so slow

And I made every moment last

And I thought about years

How they take so long

And they go so fast

Then the door flew open, and my mother's voice was laughing

As she called back to my daddy, "Come look who's here"

And I thought about years

And I let time go by so slow

And I made every moment last

And I thought about years

How they take so long

And they go so fast