Daytime Of Life - John Hartford

作词：John Hartford

作曲：John Hartford

Earthwords And Music

I wake in the dawn of the cold misty dew light

Kickin' and drinkin' warm milk while I'm cryin'

In the sterilized smell of my unsure surroundings

Feelin' warm hands as I'm passed back and forth

And I'm wigglin' and crawlin' and reaching out slowly

Strange sounds at my elbow but no way to make them

The shapes of big colors and lights all around me

Comin' to grips with the cold hard linoleum

Pushin' and pullin' as I travel in circles

Unsure on my knees as I crawl towards the table

Unsteady on legs as I'm findin' my balance

My legs stretchin' out and a wish to go walkin'

Out in the road in the gravel and sunshine

Out on the earth with my feet in the short grass

The shadows of barn and garage learnin' quickly

A switch to my bottom and on the bed cryin'

In the dawn of the mornin' the vague early mornin'

At the start of the daytime of life

Standin' out here by an old pile of lumber

A long shiny track that's still silently ringin'

And the last southbound freight that was two o'clock passin'

And I in my Levi's my cigarettes twisted

In the arm of a t-shirt I'm smart like a rooster

You stand here in front of me heavily breathin'

Your long brown hair matted with sweat as we're silent

The beads like last Christmas that lay on your bosom

I feel the exploding of some innerself

That's more lasting and longing than the carcass surrounding

The bursting of love that is pleading now for you

That creeps in our eyes and it colors our thinkin'

And tingles our hands and our arms and our foreheads

As the flesh is now talkin' in words that are quiet

In the hot afternoon as we're makin' our plans

As we walk through the daytime of life

A baby comes cryin' and laughin' and kickin'

And drinkin' warm milk as it's handled so gently

And afternoon comes to see three other babies

Playin' and runnin' their bodies fast growin'

Sundown comes sneakin' around by the back door

My joints gettin' stiffer and movin' more slowly

My hair gettin' thinner and turnin' to driftwood

Then goin' downhill in the still of the evenin'

So peaceful and gentle I'm not in a hurry

Just passin' the grave of a friend I once played with

The pine needles soft underfoot as I'm walkin'

And children come runnin' to guide their grandfather

And if you don't mind I'll just sit in the shadows

And rest and go slowly I'm gettin' so tired

My head on a pillow a doctor now holdin' my wrist

As he's feelin' the veins barely throbbin'

My grandchildren standin' around by my bedside

And now through the mist I can faint see them cryin'

But I will be comfortable here on the cushions of silk all around me

I think I must sleep in the cool deep

And it's midnight