I went home for Christmas To the house that I grew up in Going back was something after all these years I drove down Monterey Street And felt a little sadness When I turned left on Laurel and the house appeared And I snuck up to that rocking chair Where the winter sunlight slanted on the screened-in porch And I stared out past the shade tree That my laughing daddy planted on the day that I was born And I let time go by so slow And I made every moment last And I thought about years How they take so long And they go so fast Across the street the Randol's oldest daughter must have come home Her two boys built a snowman by the backyard swings I thought of old man Randol And his Christmas decorations And how he used to leave them up 'til early spring And I thought of all the summers That I paced that porch and swore I'd die of boredom there And I thought of what I'd give to feel another summer linger Where a day feels like a year And I let time go by so slow And I made every moment last And I thought about years How they take so long And they go so fast Then the door flew open, and my mother's voice was laughing As she called back to my daddy, "Come and look who's here!" And I thought about years