Time Trades

Time is gonna take so much away
But there's a way that time can offer you a trade
Time is gonna take so much away
But there's a way that time can offer you a trade
You gotta do something that you can get nicer at
You gotta do something that you can get wiser at
You better do something that you can get better at
Cause that's the only thing that time will leave you with
Cause time is gonna take so much away
But there's a way that time can offer you a trade
It might be cabaret
It could be poetry
It might be trying to make a new happy family
It could be violin repair or chemistry
But if it's something that takes lots of time that's good
Cause time is gonna take so much away
But there's a way that time can offer you a trade
Because your looks are gonna leave you
And your city's gonna change too
And your shoes are gonna wear through
Yeah, time is gonna take so much away
But there's a way that you can offer time a trade
You gotta do something that you can get smarter at
You gotta do something you might just be a starter at
You better do something that you can get better at
Cause that's the thing that time will leave you with

And maybe that's why they call a trade a trade
Like when they say that you should go and learn a trade
The thing you do don't have to be to learn a trade
Just get something back from time for all it takes away
It could be many things
It could be anything
It could be expertise in Middle-Eastern travelling
Something to slowly sew to balance life's unravelling
You have no choice you have to pay times price
But you can use the price to buy you something nice
Something you can only buy with lots of time
So when you're old you'll blow some whippersnappers mind
It might be researching a book that takes you seven years
A book that helps to make the path we take to freedom clear
And when you're done you see it started with a good idea
One good idea could cost you thousands of your days
But it's just time that you'd be spending anyway
You have no choice, you have to pay times price
But you can use the price to buy you something nice
So I've decided recently
To try to trade more decently