When I was six I saw a strange tree bearing a strange fruit I saw a surfer he was riding a wave and he was wearing a wet suit They say "Nature is just another miracle you're accustomed to" And when I see you riding a bicycle I know it's true And in the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying I was a boy at a bar-mitzvah and I was losing my voice The kids kept turning into men and they had no choice They were through with playing video games and hide and seek And they were reading in a new language they couldn't speak And in the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying And on the top of the hill there is an old man driving a tractor He says when I was fifteen I thought that I wanted to be an actor
But I missed the fruit in the field in the valley so green And the movies were dull on the other side of the screen But in the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying But in the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying And in the city where you don't need a car and where you hate the train You were trying to write a new song but you couldn't find a refrain Some sounded too shallow and others too deep You were sitting at your desk at night and you were falling asleep But in the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying In the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying In the long long run In the long long run It was worth trying