That’s the Way It Was

[Spoken]
You know there's an old sayin'
Some of you folks may remember
"The old dog barks backwards without gettin' up
I can remember when he was a pup"
Well, I guess age can kinda sometimes drag us down
Keep us from doin' the things we used to do

Just like this old country of ours
From the Rocky Mountains to the timeless Mississippi River
The great granite spires of Yosemite Valley
The weather-beaten shores of Maine and Miami
The almost prеhistoric animals that live in the Okefеnokee

Yeah, Uncle Sam, your age is startin' to show
Seems like I notice a broken stride and a heavy sigh
Last time you walked by
What's the matter? We gettin' you down?
Well, I'm kinda tired myself, it's been a long 200 years

You know I remember the first Continental Congress
Man, we had 'em all there, the greatest of the great
Ben Franklin and I was buddies
Before he got involved in all that politickin'
Course he had a big job
To helpin' all them forefathers get it together

Yeah, I remember the Civil War, kinda sad
But they saw it their way, and we saw it ours
Guess that's what life is all about
Though, I sorta get the feelin'
That's maybe where we start to slow down

Oh, I know a lot has happened since then
Hey, I was with Wilbur and Orville Wright
The day they got that thing to fly, and what's more
I can tell you exactly how many bricks there are in the Empire State Building
I was a foreman

Well, we've had our industrial age
Our space age and our peace and love age, brother
I just wonder if we'll ever get it together again
Like when I was a kid, course you never know
Maybe 200 years from now they'll still be sayin'
"That's the way it was"