The Greatest Days of All

A dirt dobber built its nest On my only Sunday dress And the roof leaked in my shoes And when they dried they were too small And the rats chewed a great big hole In my only winter coat And at night I'd hear them gnaw The paper on my bedroom wall But I still say Those were the greatest days of all Some happy and some sad Some good and some bad But I still say Those were the greatest days of all I used to wait by the garden gate Where the hummingbirds came every day To kiss the yellow roses Growing up the garden wall And in the tall grass I would lie 'Til evening shadows brought the night Through the window of my room I'd hear the whippoorwill's sad call And I still say Those were the greatest days of all Some happy and some sad Some good and some bad But I still say Those were the greatest days of all Now as I make my way Along the busy city sidewalks My head arouring from the deafening city sound You can't hear a whipporwill in this noisy city And tall green grass don't grow Along the sidewalks of this town And hummingbirds don't fly around These artificial roses Like they did around the garden wall And, oh, so often in my mind I'll go back to another time And I still say Those were the greatest days of all I still say Those were the greatest days of all