Daytime of Life - John Hartford.mp3

[00:05.500]I wake in the dawn of the cold misty dew light
[00:10.879]Kickin' and drinkin' warm milk while I'm cryin'
[00:16.440]In the sterilized smell of my unsure surroundings
[00:22.099]Feelin' warm hands as I'm passed back and forth
[00:27.530]And I'm wigglin' and crawlin' and reaching out slowly
[00:32.850]Strange sounds at my elbow but no way to make them
[00:38.639]The shapes of big colors and lights all around me
[00:44.230]Comin' to grips with the cold hard linoleum
[00:49.560]Pushin' and pullin' as I travel in circles
[00:55.451]Unsure on my knees as I crawl towards the table
[01:00.843]Unsteady on legs as I'm findin' my balance
[01:06.451]My legs stretchin' out and a wish to go walkin'
[01:12.020]Out in the road in the gravel and sunshine
[01:17.570]Out on the earth with my feet in the short grass
[01:22.862]The shadows of barn and garage learnin' quickly
[01:28.340]A switch to my bottom and on the bed cryin'
[01:33.774]In the dawn of the mornin' the vague early mornin'
[01:39.083]At the start of the daytime of life
[01:47.932]Standin' out here by an old pile of lumber
[01:53.352]A long shiny track that's still silently ringin'
[01:58.822]And the last southbound freight that was two o'clock passin'
[02:04.471]And I in my Levi's my cigarettes twisted
[02:09.606]In the arm of a t-shirt I'm smart like a rooster
[02:15.311]You stand here in front of me heavily breathin'
[02:20.851]Your long brown hair matted with sweat as we're silent
[02:26.581]The beads like last Christmas that lay on your bosom
[02:32.041]I feel the exploding of some innerself
[02:37.542]That's more lasting and longing than the carcass surrounding
[02:43.252]The bursting of love that is pleading now for you
[02:48.566]That creeps in our eyes and it colors our thinkin'
[02:54.113]And tingles our hands and our arms and our foreheads
[02:59.576]As the flesh is now talkin' in words that are quiet
[03:05.153]In the hot afternoon as we're makin' our plans
[03:10.364]As we walk through the daytime of life
[03:18.893]A baby comes cryin' and laughin' and kickin'
[03:24.292]And drinkin' warm milk as it's handled so gently
[03:29.682]And afternoon comes to see three other babies
[03:35.416]Playin' and runnin' their bodies fast growin'
[03:40.904]Sundown comes sneakin' around by the back door
[03:46.260]My joints gettin' stiffer and movin' more slowly
[03:51.777]My hair gettin' thinner and turnin' to driftwood
[03:57.664]Then goin' downhill in the still of the evenin'
[04:02.474]So peaceful and gentle I'm not in a hurry
[04:08.135]Just passin' the grave of a friend I once played with
[04:13.454]The pine needles soft underfoot as I'm walkin'
[04:18.773]And children come runnin' to guide their grandfather
[04:23.890]And if you don't mind I'll just sit in the shadows
[04:30.014]And rest and go slowly I'm gettin' so tired
[04:35.094]My head on a pillow a doctor now holdin' my wrist
[04:41.546]As he's feelin' the veins barely throbbin'
[04:46.187]My grandchildren standin' around by my bedside
[04:51.847]And now through the mist I can faint see them cryin'
[04:56.974]But I will be comfortable here on the cushions of silk all around me
[05:05.426]I think I must sleep in the cool deep
[05:16.035]And it's midnight