Van Morrison - Song Of Being A Child Lyrics
When the child was a childIt walked with arms hangingWanted the stream to be a river and the river a torrentAnd this puddle, the seaWhen the child was a child, it didnt knowIt was a childEverything for it was filled with life and all life was oneSaw the horizon without trying to reach itCouldnt rush itself and think on commandWas often terribly boredAnd couldnt waitPassed up greeting the momentsAnd prayed only with its lipsWhen the child was a childIt didnt have an opinion about a thingHad no habitsOften sat crossed-legged, took off runningHad a cow lick in its hairAnd didnt put on a face when photographedWhen the child was a childIt was the time of the following questionsWhy am I me and why not youWhy am I here and why not thereWhy did time begin and where does space endIsnt what I see and hear and smellJust the appearance of the world in front of the worldIsnt life under the sun just a dreamDoes evil actually exist in peopleWho really are evilWhy cant it be that I who amWasnt before I wasAnd that sometime i, the i, I amNo longer will be the i, I amWhen the child was a childIt gagged on spinach, on peas, on rice puddingAnd on steamed cauliflowerAnd now eats all of it and not just because it has toWhen the child was a childIt woke up once in a strange bedAnd now time and time againMany people seem beautiful to itAnd now not so many and now only if its luckyIt had a precise picture of paradiseAnd now can only vaguely conceive of it at bestIt couldnt imagine nothingnessAnd today shudders in the face of itGo for the ballWhich today rolls between its legsWith its Im here it cameInto the house which now is emptyWhen the child was a childIt played with enthusiasmAnd now only with such former concentrationWhere its work is concernedWhen the game, task, activity, subject happens to be its workWhen the child was a childIt was enough to live on apples and bread. and its still that wayWhen the child was a child berries fellOnly like berries into its hand. and still doThe fresh walnuts made its tongue raw. and still doAtop each mountain it cravedYet a higher mountain. and in each city it cravedYet a bigger city. and still doesReach for the cherries in the treetopAs elated as it still is todayWas shy in front of strangers. and still isIt waited for the first snow. and still waits that wayWhen the child was a childIt waited restlessly each day for the return of the loved oneAnd still waits that wayWhen the child was a childIt hurled a stick like a lance into a treeAnd its still quivering there todayThe child, the child was a childWas a child, was a child, was a child, was a childChild, child, childWhen the child, when the child, when the childWhen the child, when the childThe child, child, child, child, child(added words by van morrison)And on and on and on and on, etc. and onwardWith a sense of wonderUpon the highest hill. upon the highest hillWhen the child was a childAre you thereShassas, shassasUp on a highest hillWhen the child was a child, was a child, was a childWas a child, was a child, was a child, etc.(fade to end)
