Now if a man tried To take his time on Earth And prove before he died What one man's life could be worth, Well I wonder what would happen to this wor… - Harry Chapin

If a man tried to take his time on earth and prove before he died, what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world?

When I started this song I was still thirty-three The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free Keats and Shelley too soon finished, Charley Parker would be And I fantasized some tragedy'd be soon curtailing me Well just today I had my birthday I made it thirty-four Mere mortal, not immortal, not star-crossed anymore I've got this problem with my aging I no longer can ignore A tame and toothless tabby can't produce a lion's roar.

Remember when the music Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on fire, For we believed in things, and so we'd sing.