Remember when the days were long And rolled beneath a deep blue sky

[coloradodem2005]

Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When happily ever after fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

[Modem Butterfly]

1. Somewhere back there in the dust, that same small town in each of us

I grew up in a town of about 4,000 people in coastal Oregon. The day before I left for college, my dad and I went for a drive. He's not much of a talker, and he's never been to college, so we just listeed to the radio. We didn't have but one radio station in town, and it played a collection of oldies and "light" hits; "The End of the Innocence" was one of the songs they played. Later, as we parked at an overlook to watch the sunset for awhile, the old Platters song "My Prayer" played.

"My prayer
Is to linger with you
At the end of the day
In a dream that's divine,"

My dad didn't have any words of wisdom for me. In fact, I don't remember him saying a word beyond, "Want to go for a ride?" and "We need to get home before your mother worries,", but that afternoon meant more to me than just about any conversation I've ever had with him.