I was just a child thinking childish thoughts
Laying in the streets that watched me grow
Summer left and dark skies came
The nights were cold and the winds had changed
You wrapped me up in my warmest winter clothes

I was young and blind to the wars that we were in
My mother held a shield across my chest
Time came along and told me nothing will be so easy again
And taught me how bittersweet the world can be

Oh, one day when I'm old
With the past behind me
Will you take me back to the days
When I was young and free?
Oh, one day when I'm old
With the past behind me
I wanna lay down in the shade
Of the same old sycamore tree

Once I met a man standing by the river bank
His eyes were blue and his hair was jet black
Falling in love was a mystery that I had been known to doubt
A puzzle that no one could ever figure out

Oh, he looked at me in a way
A way that I couldn't ignore
And he touched me in a way no one ever had before
Oh, I was always afraid, afraid to face the truth
That every day, I'd move on
Further and further from my youth

But that's just the way it is
Like a bud turning into a rose
We watched it bloom and wilt
It's just the way it goes
But that's just the way it is
Like a bud turning into a rose
We watched it bloom and wilt
It's just the way life goes

Oh, one day when I'm old
With the past behind me
Will you take me back to the days
When I was young and free?
Oh, one day when I'm old
With the past behind me
I wanna lay down in the shade
Of the same old sycamore tree