Every generation   Blames the one before   And all of their frustrations   Come beating on your door      I know that I'm a prisoner   To all my father held so dear   I know that I'm a hostage   To all his hopes and fears   I just wish I could have told him in the living years      Crumpled bits of paper   Filled with imperfect thought   Stilted conversations   I'm afraid that's all we've got      You say you just don't see it   He says it's perfect sense   You just can't get agreement in this present tense   We all talk a different language, talking in defense      Say it loud, say it clear   You can listen as well as you hear   It's too late when we die   To admit we don't see eye to eye      So we open up a quarrel   Between the present and the past   We only sacrifice the future   It's the bitterness that lasts      So don't yield to the fortunes   You sometimes see as fate   It may have a new perspective on a different day   And if you don't give up, and don't give in, you may just be okay      Say it loud, say it clear   You can listen as well as you hear   It's too late when we die   To admit we don't see eye to eye      I wasn't there that morning   When my Father passed away   I didn't get to tell him   All the things I had to say      I think I caught his spirit   Later that same year   I'm sure I heard his echo   In my baby's new born tears   I just wish I could have told him in the living years      Say it loud, say it clear   You can listen as well as you hear   It's too late when we die   To admit we don't see eye to eye