Forty-Five

In '68, she's told another baby is coming around In the spring of '69 they said "your husband's going down" A summer morning brought a boy then almost 4 years to the day A birthday celebration threaded with a trip to father's grave And only two Junes just before, at the end of any week A seven-year-old son and brother had a heart that wouldn't beat Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? The six still had a mother, though he can't recall her face That's when the memories looked like Neighbors as the Beatles records played With every window split wide open, every door neglect to close There was this constant clear commotion from the moment he awoke And then the older ones would stay while the younger had to leave Now that a marriage set in motion an extraction from the scene Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Everyone would have their children, some of those would have their own But no one's ever much for visits or talking on the phone And when they gathered around their mother in a bad she never made They got one lasting long reflection Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all? Is this the end of it all?