"Someday my baby when I am a man,
and others have shown me the best that they can.
They'll sell me a suit,
they'll cut off my hair,
and send me to work in tall buildings"

You, and only you, my baby. You'll see me one day, thinking I'm maturing into a man--as mistaken as one can be--you'll see me fall and give in, follow the men that instructed me, shed my dreams and come to terms with the given and the needed. All you'll see will be my back as I leave, to go and be one among the many. As the agony of this life takes it's toll on me, you'll see me growing pass the man I thought I was and becoming a real one, more or less at least. And to keep your smile bright I'll stay alive and won't die from this pain of not being more.

"So it's goodbye to the sunshine,
goodbye to the dew,
goodbye to the flowers and goodbye to you.
I'm off to the subway I must not be late,
I'm going to work in tall buildings"

Oh my oh my, but I won't stay forever put, one by one those things I'll leave and say goodbye to what kept me afloat for so long--among them you. As I do that, I'll see your smile decay and I'll sadly realize it was me who withered the most beautiful flower my tired eyes ever wept for--so I'll leave, once again. What follows oughta' be hard but not enough to stop my rambling feet, as this will be the last of this Me you'll see-- next time I'll be the man that I want to be. No more of the daily goodbyes, this one will be long, I'm off to work for what I owe and I'm rushing cause I should've been gone quite a while ago. Years I've let pass, many chances I've let go, so I'm taking this one and heading to find the Me that was lost when I took that job.

"When I retire, my life is my own,
paid all my payments,
is time to go home .
Wonder what happen betwixt and between ,
when I went to work in tall buildings"

Once I'm done, can you guess where I'll go?

Well, my love is back to you for sure. It might be long but I'll find my way. Once I'm done forging this old soul, when my hands can't take it anymore and my feet stay tire no matter how much I rest, I'll consider my debt to be paid. I'll think about everything I missed but won't dwell on it, as sad as it might be, I made sure it was worth it. In the end, I'll finally own my heart, and it won't be long until It can finally be yours.

Although here I am once again, asking yet one more thing from you, bold is it not? The patient love of my life, the one and only one I would cross hell for. Here is my one final request.

Please don't ask to hold it, for fragile it was when I walked, many pieces I left in the way and heavier it got, every single time. So listen, yours it is of that have no doubt, but what could you possibly warm up, if there is nothing racing in my chest as you approach?

"So it's goodbye to the sunshine,
goodbye to the dew,
goodbye to the flowers and goodbye to you.
I'm off to the subway I must not be late,
I'm going to work in tall buildings"
"So it's goodbye to the sunshine,
goodbye to the dew,
goodbye to the flowers and goodbye to you.
I'm off to the subway I must not be late,
I'm going to work in tall buildings"

Gregory Alan Isakov

John Hartford