Written by richard leigh and robert byrne He raced that engine down the track 'round the tree on christmas day I was so amazed my dad would play with trains I saw a sparkle in his eye, then i heard him say, come on son let's play, i Was young once, too He washed that buick faithfully, lord he kept her clean I thought that machine meant more to him than me On the day i turned sixteen he threw me the keys Said i was young once, too, now she belongs to you He was such a young man then, i'm older than that now
I hope i measure up to him, when the circle comes around I saw him in the attic sittin' cross legged on the floor With some old photographs, he point and laughed He said, that's me in that picture, i said, no son, that's your dad I was young once, too, and looked a lot like you I was young once, too, i was young once, too Merry christmas son, i wish your grandpa were here He was young once, too, and looked like me and you