When I was 17

"It was a very good year"

When I was 17,
It was a very good year.
It was a very good year
For small town girls
And soft summer nights.
We'd hide from the lights
On the village green
When I was 17.

When I was 21,
It was a very good year,
it was a very good year
For city girls
Who lived up the stair,
With perfumed hair
That came undone
When I was 21.

When I was 35,
It was a very good year,
It was a very good year
For blue-blooded girls,
Of independent means,
We'd ride limousines,
Their chauffeurs would drive,
When I was 35.

But now the days are short,
I'm in the autumn of the year.
And now I think of my life
As vintage wine
From fine old kegs.
From the brim to the dregs,
it poured sweet and clear.
It was a very good year!

Ervin Drake

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