This Old Life

This soft picked country song started with a series of competing words and images and it was the image that won out in the end. That means some of those initial written lines are gone forever, but the warmth of the image, an old man heading off for some “later in life” courting, begat a whole new series of sentences that held the image up and carried it to the finish line. The original song idea was more cynical, but the final product turned romantic in both the literary and “wordly” sense

This old road gets a little longer This old bridge crossed a lot of water Every summer night gets a little hotter Trying to make a living out of this old life

This old lane gets a little dusty This old porch swing gets rusty This old blanket keeping us comfy Trying to make a living out of this old life

Oooh, this old life’s a sight to see Oooh, this old life, plain as can be This old life’s done a lot of living Sometimes hitting Sometimes missing All the way down Coming up kicking Trying to make a living out of this old life

This old doorbell keeps ringing These old crickets keep on singing These old stars keep on winking Trying to make a living out of this old life

This old porchlight keeps burning This old doorknob keeps turning This old heart keeps on learning Trying to make a living out of this old life

Chorus