Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet
As rain upon my tongue
I played at life as if
It were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze
Plays with a candle flame
The thousand dreams I dreamed
The splendid things I planned
I always built to last
On weak and shifting sands
I lived by night
Declined the naked light of day
And only now I see
The years that ran away
Yesterday when I was young
So many crazy songs
Were waiting to be sung
So many crazy times
That lay in store for me
And so much pain inside
My heart 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
That I can now recall
Has all to do 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
And never saw the waste
And emptiness beyond
The games of love I played
With arrogance and pride
And every flame I lit
So quickly quickly died
The friends I made all seemed
Somehow to drift away
And only I am left
On stage to end the play
Yesterday when I was young