Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet
As rain upon my tongue
A tease of life as
If it were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze may
Tease a candle flame
The thousand dreams I dreamed
The splendid things I planned
I always built to last on weak
And shifting sand
I lived by night and shunned
The naked light of day
And only now
I see how the years ran away
Yesterday when I was young
So many happy songs
Were waiting to be sung
So many wild pleasures
Lay in store for me
And so much pain
My dazzled eyes refused to see
I ran so fast that time
And youth at last ran out
I never stopped to think
What life was all about
And every conversation
I can now recall
Concerned itself with me
And nothing else at all
Yesterday the moon was blue
And every crazy day
Brought something new to do
I used my magic age as
If it were a wand
I never saw the waste
And emptiness beyond
The game of love
I played with arrogance and pride
And every flame
I lit too quickly quickly died
The friends I made all seemed
Somehow to drift away
And only I am left on stage
To end the play
There are so many songs in me
That won't be sung
I feel the bitter taste of tears
Upon my tongue
The time has come for me
To pay for yesterday
When I was young