Time to Live

Music & lyrics, 1978

A man lay in the street
Never had a home
Nor a roof o’er his head
To keep the rain at bay

The sound of a baby crying
Did it not fill your ears?
Or remind you of a time
When I think you must have died?

And you ride around
In your Mercedes-Benz
One really wonders
What matters after all
Runnin’ to the stores
For the latest styles
Money really makes
Your world go ‘round

You sit behind your desk
And scorn at all below you
But I remember
How you got to where you are

You ran a rat race
And my you ran it well
But somewhere on that course
You lost your soul, yourself

Your money, clothes, and car
Swimming pool and cigarettes
Keep you where you are
Are you happy?
And that job behind your desk
Took nineteen years to get
Someone else took the time
To look around and see the world

Your family is well clothed
Your daughter has a ring
Your son, a motor car
The wife a brand new sink

Everything they want that money can buy
Comes floating through the air to the door
But all the love you might have given them
Was lost...
When money became your god
When rank became you aim
When competition with the Jones got so out of hand

And you ride around
In your Mercedes-Benz
One really wonders
What matters after all
Runnin’ to the stores
For the latest styles
Money really makes
Your world go ‘round

Your money, clothes, and car
Swimming pool and cigarettes
Keep you where you are
Are you happy?
And that job behind your desk
Took nineteen years to get
Someone else took the time
To look around and see the world

Someone else took the time to love...
Someone else took the time to live...

© Kirtland C. Peterson, 1978