The Living Years! Every generationBlames the one beforeAnd all of their frustrationsCome beating on your doorI know that Im a prisonerTo all my father held so dearI know that Im a hostageTo all his hopes and fearsI just wish I could have told him in the living yearsCrumpled bits of paperFilled with imperfect thoughtStilted conversationsIm afraid thats all weve gotYou say you just dont see itHe says its perfect senseYou just cant get agreementIn this present tenseWe all talk a different languageTalking in defenceSay it loud, say it clearYou can listen as well as you hearIts too late when we dieTo admit we dont see eye to eyeSo we open up a quarrelBetween the present and the pastWe only sacrifice the futureIts the bitterness that lastsSo dont yield to the fortunesYou sometimes see as fateIt may have a new perspectiveOn a different dayAnd if you dont give up, and dont give inYou may just be o.k.Say it loud, say it clearYou can listen as well as you hearIts too late when we dieTo admit we dont see eye to eyeI wasnt there that morningWhen my father passed awayI didnt get to tell himAll the things I had to sayI think I caught his spiritLater that same yearIm sure I heard his echoIn my babys new born tearsI just wish I could have told him in the living yearsSay it loud, say it clearYou can listen as well as you hearIts too late when we dieTo admit we dont see eye to eye--Mike and the Mechanics.