The Clock Was Tickin

The teacher had you write a letter, you were eight years old

About the man that you’d become and the positions you’d hold

But this was long before you and Jackie Geronimo met in the Prelude Park at midnight

Now when it came to bells and whistles, Jackie did not lack

And when she kissed you on the kisser, boy, you kissed her back

Now you tell her that you love her and she cuts you slack

When you drink with your buddies on the weekend

And the weeks fly by and the years roll on

You spend your whole life dropping nickels in the bucket, wakin’ up at dawn

And while Jackie bestowed the joys of fingerlickin’

The clock up on the wall was tickin’

You got yourself a job cleaning hospital floors

But Jackie had a baby, then she had five more

They’d pay you just enough to drag your ass to the store

To buy bread, milk and Better Homes & Gardens

Jackie flips the pages and she dreams little dreams

A cottage in the country built with real wood beams

There’s a baby in the bedroom, he’s starting to scream

She holds him though he probably won’t remember it

And the weeks fly by and the years roll on

Sometimes dreams are all you got to keep you going when the day gets long

And you gave up so many just to make a livin’

That clock up on the wall was tickin’

Now the kids are all grateful when they left the nest

And Jackie wasn’t perfect but she did her best

You seize the opportunity to get you some rest

But you can’t sleep on account of screaming grandkids

The golden years are meant to leave a gleam in your eye

You’re starting to discover it’s a great big lie

They'll work you like a dog til you quit or you die

But you can’t quit cause Jackie needs the benefits

And the weeks fly by and the years roll on

They say patience is a virtue but the doctor says she don’t have long

You stood up and tried your damndest not to listen

But that clock up on the wall was tickin’

When they told you to clear the room, that’s when it hit you

You watched as the caravan took your sweetheart away

The arguments and fights and money troubles seem so worthless

As the kids throw yellow roses on her grave

And the weeks fly by and the years roll on

The house is quiet now and everything inside it seems to know she’s gone

There’s a picture of you both sixteen years old just kissing

And that clock up on the wall was tickin’

You always thought she had a chance and it was somewhere hidden

Now you’ve come to the conclusion that she never did

Not a chance, that is