Verse:
Joe he was a friend of mine, I've known him for a long long
Time... Ever since I was a boy... and he'd moved in next
Door... Well, he didn't do much talkin',... but when he'd tell a
Tale,... well you could listen for hours and hang on every word.

He would tell us stories... of long ago... The times he had spent,...
With the girl next door,... and he would tell us tales,... of when he
Was a lad,... and all the dickens that he'd gotten into,... and all the
Fun that he had.

He would tell us stories,... about the war,... brave men he had fought
With,... who never did come home... and he'd say out loud their
Names,... each and everyone,... as if he could still see them standing
There,... and then he'd settle down.,... and he'd say, son...

Chorus:
Everything considered,... I lived a pretty good life... I never got
Rich,... nor, did I take a wife... but what I saw of this old
World,... I'll take to my grave,... you see son,... all the world's a
Memory,... of stone and ageless names.

Verse:
Now one day I saw old Joe,... sittin' out on his porch... So I wondered
Over,... just to say hello... and we sat there for hours,... and never
Spoke a word,... and then he turned and he smiled at me,... and I wondered
On back home.

Now about a month went by,... when Joe and I say down again,... and he
Took out some pictures,... of him and his men,... and in a box he held so
Tight,... was a Bronze Star,... the medal of Valor,... and a Purple
Heart.

It was then that I realized,... what a man I had met,... an honest to
God Hero,... a man above the rest... a man who fought for
Freedom,... who put it on the line,... so, others wouldn't have
To,... at least for a time...

(Instrumental)

(Spoken during instrumental): Now, just the other day... the mail man
Came,... and he had a special delivery,... and I knew right
Away...

Verse:
Now, I've since long moved away,... I got a wife and two kids,... and
I tell them the stories,... as Joe once did,... and I watch their
Faces,... as they hang on every word,... and then I take out the box and
Show them the medal's...

Today I came home,... to see old Joe,... pay my last respects,... to
A man I had known,... I had learned so much,... from this gentle
Man... and as I touched the stone,... his words hit
Home... and I could hear him say, Pete...

Everything considered,... I lived a pretty good life,... I never got
Rich,... nor, did I take a wife,... but what I saw of this old
World,... I'll take to my grave,... you see son,...

All the world's a memory,... of stone and ageless names,... and he'd
Say son,...

All the world's a memory,... of stone,... and ageless
Names.