The river

When I was 10 years old I always needed to be told
That I should not be frightened by the fact that we grow old
But as the days slipped by I felt the pressing need to cry
And I quickly understood exactly why they'd had to lie

In the daylight I could cope, because the sun seemed full of hope
I laughed enough for two grown men and learnt I could tell jokes
But sadness has a subtle face and then it came to gloat
We heard about the girl and boy hung by their skipping rope

Isn't it too hard to conceive
Doesn't it bring you to your knees?
And all I want to do
is to float with the river so free.

Now, fear is not a gentle thing although it has no fists
It crawls down from your thoughts and ties you by your skinny wrists
Death will take your lips from you so that you cannot kiss
But fear will leave you screaming out for all the love you'll miss

And I had a friend who thought he knew exactly where he stood
A place in heaven's safe for him as long as he did good
But life and love ran through his veins and opened up his mind
Now he's got his gun but a new terror sings at night

Isn't it too hard to conceive
Doesn't it bring you to your knees
And all I want to do is to float with the river so free

And Larkin is the master in this poetry of fear
But he could never capture what cried darkly in his ears
And he would understand that though I wrote these words to sing
These petty verses cannot hope to tell you anything

Isn't it too hard to conceive
Doesn't it bring you to your knees
And all I want to do is to float with the river so free

So everyday I'll stop these thoughts before they'll take a hold
Lying in my bed pretending that I won't grow old
And maybe when I'm 84 I'll sit and sing this song
Just hope that if I do then this fear is dead and gone

Isn't it too hard to conceive
Doesn't it bring you to your knees
And all I want to do is to float with the river so free