“The Living Years” – Mike & the Mechanics

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

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
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 O.K.

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

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I’m sure I heard his echo
In my baby’s new born 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

 

 

This is a good song to play in funeral services. It was written by B.A. Robertson and Mike Rutherford. Both Robertson and Rutherford lost their fathers just before they recorded the song. Sung by Paul Carrack, a member of Mike & The Mechanics, the song reveals the sentiments of a son whose father has just died. Carrack also lost his own father when he was just a young boy. The lyrics of the song show the typical father and son relationship where both of them don’t see eye to eye. And yet Robertson, the songwriter, realizes that he has a strong bond with his father, but only after his dad died. He regrets that he wasn’t able to express his love during his father’s living years.

 

The song has a universal appeal and elicits the same response to a lot of listeners. You can even see your own story as you listen to the lyrics of the song. There’s a lesson to be learned here. Don’t wait until your father dies before you tell him how dear he is to you – even if you don’t see eye to eye. Show him your love in his living years, before it’s too late. If you are looking for songs like this one, there’s a lot more of them in www.songmeanings.net.