When Did You Get Old? - Amy Wadge

You were forty-one

And we lived in a house at the end of the street

Long days in the sun

Singin' Elton John in the backseat

I knew who I was

'Cause you were mine and I was yours

When I was small

When you were fifty-two

I’d give you hell, but I didn’t mean it

Deep down I knew

Whatever I did, you would forgive it

I knew that you’d love me

I never doubted that at all

When I was small

But when did you get old?

So far down that road

When was it that you needed me,

To be grown?

When did you start to be,

Not too good on your feet

'Cause I’m not ready yet

To be alone

When did you get old?

Then you were sixty-four

I was livin' in a house at the end of the street

Two kids of my own

When they needed answers, they asked me

I’m still too afraid

To see myself that way, I fall

I still feel small

But when did you get old?

So far down that road

When was it that you needed me,

To be grown?

When did you start to be,

Not too good on your feet

'Cause I’m not ready yet

To be alone

When did you get old?

When did you get,

Scared to walk home when it’s late?

Got so tired, in bed by eight

Need a light on when you read

Never tell me what you need

Got so shaky on your bones

Never go too far from home

Say, «Don't worry, I’m okay»

You wouldn’t tell me anyway

Now you’re seventy-five

I don’t get to see you as much as I should

And every single goodbye

Is a little bit hard

'Cause I’ve understood

That time, it gets wasted

We can’t go back once it has faded

And life takes hold

But when did you get old?