When the Maples Turn

Words & music A. McKnight, ©2004 Catalooch Music, BMI

Verse 1
I am just a small boy, on my grandmother’s knee
She’s telling me a story, from when she was three
“I have known you all my life” I say, “always you are wise,
but how can you expect me to, believe you were my size”

She holds up the picture, says “look, this child is me
Just the same as you, it’s clear and plain to see”
I reply “I see the difference, and it surely proves me right,
For I live my life in color, there you are in black and white”

Chorus
Golden years go silver like the falling of the leaves
Father Time is always tugging at our sleeve
I know the story winds down, when life’s autumn colors burn
The killing frost not far behind, when the maples turn

Verse 2
The queen of all the nurses, the patriot, the saint,
Lighting matches in dark places, bearing all without complaint
These are her chapters and her verses, from our history
The pages left to come are mostly left to me

Grandmother is quite old now, she’s lived a century
The eyes reflecting my own, no longer know it’s me
I wrestle with the notion, someday I'll know that cage
Once again remembering, she once was my age

Chorus
Verse 3
Flagstaff Arizona, after another show
A young girl shares her story, that reminds me of my own
How it all once seemed so clear, so long before this page
and hear myself saying back, when I was your age

Chorus