Lyrics:

1989
Skip Ewing

He grew up a thinkin
That nothin was fair
And love was just somethin you bought

He grew up thinkin
That money was free
As long as you didn't get caught

And it seemed like they all said
He was goin' on forty
The day that he turned seventeen
But from his jail cell that same night
In his mind it seemed like
His childhood was all just a dream

Cause your only as old as you think that you are
You hope that's the number they call
Cause when you livin just diein for someon to love you
Age doesn't matter at all, no, your age doesn't matter at all

And he lived in the streets
Where he learned to survive
Beggin for blankets and shoes
He huddled over a man hole at night
And his days went from soup lines to booze

Now, it ain't like he never had nothin at all
He was half glad to still be alive
Oh, he couldn't remember
If it was June or December
But he swore he just turned thirty-five

But, your only as old as you think that you are
You hope that's the number they call
Cause when you livin just diein for someone to love you
Age doesn't matter at all, no, your age doesn't matter at all

Now he sits and he stares
All alone in his room
And he turns when the nurses walk by
He used to be grandpa
And he used to be Joe
Now he's the old man in room #9

But he remembers the days when his family came by
When it still seemed like somebody cared
Oh, he's never been lazy and its drivin him crazy
Spendin the day in his chair

But, your only as old as you think that you are
You hope that's the number they call
Cause when you livin just dieing for someone to love you
Age doesn't matter at all, no, your age doesn't matter at all

And your only as old as you think that you are
You hope that's the number they call
Cause when you livin just diein for someone to love you
Age doesn't matter at all, no, your age doesn't matter at all