I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
As easy it was to tell black from white
Our words were told, our songs were sung
With hungry hearts through the heat and cold
Laughin' and singin' till the early hours of the morn
We never much thought we could get very old
At the one road we traveled, we ever shattered or split
Where we longed for nothin' and were satisfied
With half damp eyes I stared to the room
And many a road taken by many a first friend
By the old wooden stove where our hats was hung
I dreamed a dream that made me sad
And each one I've never seen again
Concerning myself and the first few friends I had
Jokin' and talkin' about the world outside
Where my friends and I spent many an afternoon
And our chances really was a million to one
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right
And our choices there was few so the thought never hit
We thought we could sit forever in fun
How many a year has passed and gone
Where we together weathered many a storm
Many a gamble has been lost and won
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
That we could sit simply in that room again