Thoughts

Every generation blames the one before
And all of their frustrations come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner to all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage to all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
More crumpled bits of paper filled with imperfect thoughts
Stilted conversations, I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it, he says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement in this present tense
We all talk a different language, talking in defense
Say it loud, say it clear, you can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die to admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future, it's the bitterness that lasts
So don't yield to the fortunes you sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective on a different date
And if you don't give up and don't give in you may just be okay
Say it loud, say it clear, you can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die to admit we don't see eye to eye
I wasn't there that morning when my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him all the things I had to say
But I think I caught its spirit later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo in my baby's newborn tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear, you can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die to admit we don't see eye to eye
--Mike & the Mechanics, "The Living Years"
I was watching a television show the other night, and one of the characters had a heart attack...he lived, but it made him and the other characters on the show realize what the really important things were in life...It got me to thinking about how it seems to take really big things to make you realize what is important and who is important in your life...that's a shame, because sometimes when something happens, it's too late to fix it afterwards, and you wish you hadn't been so stupid in the first place...the little tiffs and fights don't matter so much in the big scheme of things...