The fading scent of summertime   Arbutus trees and Firs   The glistening of rain-soaked moss   Going to the Dairy Queen at dusk   Down narrow roads   In autumn light      The salt air and the sawmills   And the bars are full of songs and tears   To the passing of the tugboats   And people with their big ideas      I just get home   And then I leave again   It's long ago and far away   Now we're skimming stones   And exchanging rings   There's scattering and sailing from departure bay      The house was bare of Christmas lights   It came down hard that year   Outside in our overcoats   Drinking down to the bitter end   Trying to make things right   Like my mother did      Last year we were laughing   We sang in church so beautifully   Now her perfume's on the bathroom counter   And I'm sitting in the back pew crying      I just get home   And then I leave again   It's long ago and far away   Now we're skimming stones   And exchanging rings   There's scattering and sailing from departure bay      A song plays on the gramophone   And thoughts turn back to life   We took the long way to get back   Like driving over the Malahat   Now a seaplane drones   And time has flown      I won't miss all the glamour   While my heart is beating and the lilacs bloom   But who knew when I started   That I'd find a love and bring him home      Just get me there   And one we will stay   A long time off and far away   Now we're skimming stones   And exchanging rings   We're scattering and diving in departure bay