It takes my
breath away when I
really think about it;
I'm
flying through
space on a
big 'ole rock that's
crowded.
Oh, I don't
know what to
make of this
life I'm leading,
A
child ever-
searching to
belong;
I've got one foot in
history and the
other in the
future
Something's got to
give before too long.
There's
loneliness for
sale and the
people here are
buying;
All
dipping in the
till, now the
whole damn
world is
dying.
Oh, I
guess progress will
provide for its
children,
Even though their
eyes won't see the
sky;
I'll
remember sparrows, but by then they'll never
miss them,
It's
sad enough to make a grown man
cry.
If I could
break away to some long-gone
year, I'd try it;
Find a
quiet town where you'd know no
fear inside it.
Oh, I don't know what to make of this life I'm
leading,
A child
ever-searching to belong;
I've got
one foot in history and the other in the future
Something's got to give before too long.
These are the
lyrics to the 1974 song "One Foot in History," written by
John Nitzinger.
I
reprint them here with John's
kind permission because their
simple eloquence, for me, remains as
insightful and
moving now as when the song came out; and in an
age where
disillusionment seems to be running ever more
rampant, to me they're a way of reminding us that
none of us are ever as
isolated and
alone as we may sometimes feel. A
simple sentiment, but one that is no less
powerful for its simplicity.