Update 10/12/2025: Reworking in a different key. Stay tuned….

I’ve been meaning to post something for a while. This should have the usual accompaniment but in the interest of expediency, here are just the vocals. Blues scale in D, straight 90BPM until the ritard at the very end.

Lyrics:

Sixty Years (and Change)
© & (cc)BY D A Ayer 2025-09-24 Jazzish…

If I had just one nickel for every time I’d failed
or had a drop too much to drink or smoked and then inhaled
I’d have enough to buy us each a ticket to the moon…
Though last I checked that flight’s delayed and won’t be leaving soon (enough for me)…

Sixty years and change. My future’s now my past and ain’t that strange?
[I’ve] got a genie in my pocket now, tries to tell me what to do;
He’s got a hundred thousand maps in there but none of them will get me back to you.

If I only get three wishes, it’d pay to be precise.
The advertising says they’re free, but we all know there’s a price:
each wish must fix the harm done by the one made just before;
so, I’ll bite my tongue and think, “Just one,” not count on any more (we’ll wait and see…).

Sixty years and change. My future’s in my past: now ain’t that strange?
I’ve got a genie in my pocket now, [he] loves to tell me all the news;
He’s got a million headlines every day but I’m not sure a single one is true…

If life is like an arrow I’ve already left the bow
and my aim and inclination were determined long ago…
still, I’d like to hope I’ve got a shot at landing with a smile
if I let your journey intersect the one I’m on (if only for a while)…

Sixty years and change. My future’s now my past and ain’t that strange?
While the genie in my pocket tries to package up my dreams
so he can sell them all right back to me…but I’m too old to be bothered by his schemes.

[Reprise Verse 1]