DAYS OF SAND AND SHOVELS
(Bud Reneau / Doyle Marsh)

Roy Clark - 1969
Waylon Jennings - 1969
Bobby Lewis - 1969
Jim Ed Brown - 1970
Anthony A. Jones - 1970
Faron Young - 1974
Charley Pride - 1975



When I noticed her the first time
I was outside running barefoot in the rain
She lived in the house next door
Her nose was pressed against the window pane
When I looked at her, she smiled
And showed a place where two teeth used to be
And I heard her ask her mom
If she could come outside and play with me

Soon the days of sand and shovels
Gave way to the mysteries of life
Then I noticed she was changing
And I looked at her through different eyes
We became as one and knew a love
Without beginning or an end
And every day I lived with her
Was like a new day dawning once again

And I've loved her since
Ev'ry doll was Shirley Temple
Soda pop was still a nickel
Jam was on her fingertips
Milk was circled on her lips

After many years our love grew silent
And at night I heard her cry
And when she left me in the Fall
I knew it would be our last goodbye
I was man enough to give her
Ev'rything she needed for a while
In searching for a perfect love
I found that I could not give her a child

Now she lives a quiet life
And is a mother of a little girl
And ev'ry time I pass her house
My thoughts go back into another world
Because I see her little girl
Her nose is pressed against the window pane
She thinks I'm a lonely man
Who wants to come inside out of the rain

And I've loved her since
Ev'ry doll was Shirley Temple
Soda pop was still a nickel
Jam was on...........FADE


(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - March 2010)