Tom Paxton - The Names Of Trees lyrics

He's forgotten the names of trees Familiar faces have no names He's returned from alien seas To find our father's house in flames He tries to read the signs They're in an unfamiliar tongue Some half-remembered lines He read when he was young But there are days when he'll recall The forest in the fall When we can walk together, and he's fine There are precious days like that When he can name them all The ash, the elm, the beech, the oak, the pine He's forgotten the names of trees His thoughts are like the chattering birds They flutter as they please And they build their nests with scattered words The children stop and smile They offer him their candy bar They sometimes stay a while And remind him of who they are But there are days when he'll recall The forest in the fall When we can walk together, and he's fine There are precious days like that When he can name them all The ash, the elm, the beech, the oak, the pine He's forgotten the names of trees He smells the land to his surprise He's lost in the Hebrides A stranger to our sunny skies