I remember when we had a lot of things to do

Impressed by the words we read

And the heroes that we knew

Climb on to dream a dream of my own making

To find a place that we could later lose

To whatever time would bring

We were seventeen

And the cakeman was affecting you

Moving you to greater things

In a lesser way you had to prove

The clock struck summertime

You were going round in circles now

Wishing you were seventeen

At twenty-one, it was a long time gone

And now here you are

You're lost in your own excuse

But the circle's getting smaller every day

You're busy planning the next fifty years

So stay the way you are

And keep your head down in the same old round

Just paint your picture, boy, until you find

A closed circle's better than an open line

Yes, stay the way you are

I got a circle just the same as yours

It may be bigger, but I've more to lose

Who is the luckier man - me or you?