Fifteen to Forty-Three

I just cut the string

On a dusty old shoe box

And opened a door to the past

Now I'm sittin' here with my souvenirs

And these faded old photographs.

Fightin' back tears

Lookin' back through the years

And wonderin' why dreams fade so fast

Now the young boy I see

Don't look like the me

Reflected in this old looking glass.

The man in the mirror

Sees things so much clearer

Than the boy in the pictures

With his eyes full of dreams

Oh, the men that I've tried to be

From fifteen to forty-three

Never believed that they'd end up like me.

There's that touchdown I caught

Back when I thought

I'd play for the cowboys someday

There's you holding me in my faded fatigues

Comin' home to the U.S.A.

One after another

All my sweet dreams and lovers

Pass before my tear filled eyes

Pictures of a fool

Who was selfish and cruel

Till the day he made you say goodbye.

The man in the mirror

Sees things so much clearer

Than the boy in the pictures

With his eyes full of dreams

Oh the men that I've tried to be

From fifteen to forty-three

Never believed that they'd end up like me.

Oh, I never believed I'd be lonely like me...