Peter Hammill - Since The Kids

It was simple, we were man and wife;
something happened to change everything in life
and made us feel small but we were giants nonetheless
and here we are all in the family portrait.

I've been sliding in a 2.4-wheel skid:
something happened to me and since the kids
all time's gone awry, direction's askew...
I never thought that I
would ever feel so used up.

The sense of wonder, the note of panic, demands you just can't ignore
nothing prepares you to be a parent,
looking to join the strands of the broken chord.

What you wanted, what I couldn't give...
something happened to us oh, but since the kids
inherit the earth
we had to plough and drill the field,
nurture the shoots with our hopes and fears,
never wonder about the future yield.

(Never wonder, never wonder, this is real)

I've been thinking about all we did,
much mistaken but anyway, since the kids
are now almost grown with the future in their own hands
what's done is done there'll be no unmaking our half-baked plans.

Here comes the gold watch, I'll take the pension, I want the lifetime award;
all for the best, with the best of intentions, the children are their own reward...
Since the kids,
since the kids,
since the kids
mended the broken chord.