When Summer Used to Last Forever

When Summers Used to Last Forever

The smell of grass, freshly mowed,
the heat bugs singing their tunes,
I’d get up these sun drenched mornings,
eat some cereal and watch cartoons.
I’d run down to my friend Billy’s house,
and we’d plan our day’s adventure.
Summers go by so fast now,
summers used to last forever.

Me and Billy pretended we were phone men,
perched high on telephone poles,
never leaving the top step of his front porch,
starring in our blue-collar roles.
We rode our gigs, had berry fights,
some nights we’d camp out in Billy’s trailer.
Summers go by so fast now,
summers used to last forever.

Playing sports in the middle of the road,
too young to be bothered by heat,
we’d yell “Car!” and move to the sidewalk,
when we saw one turn up our street.
Billy’s dad would let us shoot BB guns,
at beer cans down in his cellar.
Summers go by so fast now,
summers used to last forever.

We dreamed our bikes were Harleys,
balloons tied up against our spokes,
roaring up and down Kosta Street,
then down to Sundquist’s for glass bottled cokes.
Sometimes we’d go under the train tracks,
to catch frogs in the Blackstone River.
Summers go by so fast now,
summers used to last forever.

We finished school and we both got jobs,
and met girls along the way,
we bought ourselves the Harley’s,
Billy owns three of them today.
Some plans and dreams we have as kids,
change faster than the weather,
so I sold my Harley, paid some bills
and gave away my leather.
Life’s flying by so fast now,
life used to take forever.

Me and Billy don’t have the same dad,
and we didn’t have the same mother,
but Billy’s more than just my friend,
Billy’s my blood brother.
I’m living my dream now, being a dad,
and I’d gladly pay whatever,
to give my boy’s what me and Billy had,
when summers used to last forever.