I was sitting by the fire, listening to the radio
Thinking of my life so many years ago
The things I did as a child, and as a youth
And began to realise that I must face the truth
That now by body is racked with aches and pain
I shall never be able to do such things again.

I used to meet my young friends in the park
And play with them until it was getting dark
The hardest thing that we had to decide
Was whether we would go backwards down the slide?
Oh yes, there was one other thing
How high we dare go on the swing.

Those childhood days went quickly past
And I became grown up at last
Exams were passed, my school days were over
Until then I had not realised I had been in clover
Now there was less time to play
I had to go out to earn my pay

Now, I found that this was hard to do
It seemed that everyone was watching you
To see if you would make the grade
And put your work mates in the shade
Or would just sit back and hope no one
Would think it was time that you had gone

And now I am old I can look back
Thankful that there is nothing that I lack
As I sit here I must face the truth
And accept that I have lost my youth
Thinking of the things that I used to do
As I sit by the fire listening to the radio