"Minutes To Memories" lyrics

On a Greyhound thirty miles beyond Jamestown
He saw the sun set on the Tennessee line
Looked at the young man who was riding beside him
He said, "I'm old, kind of worn out inside
I worked my whole life in the steel mills near Gary
And my father before me I helped build this land
Now I'm seventy-seven and with God as my witness
I earned every dollar that passed through my hands

"My family and friends are the best things I've known
Through the eye of the needle I'll carry them home

"Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out and be the best you can"

The rain hit the old dog in the twilight's last gleaming
He said, "Son, it sounds like rattling old bones
This highway's long but I know some that are longer
By sunup tomorrow I guess I'll be home"
Through the hills of Kentucky 'cross the Ohio River
The old man kept talking about his life and his times
He fell asleep with his head against the window
He said an honest man's pillow is his peace of mind

This world offers riches and riches will grow wings
And I don't take stock in those uncertain things

Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out and be the best you can

The old man had a vision but it was hard for me to follow
I do things my way and I pay a high price
When I think back on that old man and the bus ride
Now that I'm older I can see he was right
Another hot one out on Highway 11
This is my life, it's what I've chosen to do
There's no free rides, no one said it'd be easy
The old man told me this, my son, I'm telling it to you

Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out and be the best you can