If It Takes Forever

Gather ’round and I’ll tell you a tale

Of a man who found his very own trail

He left his home a minor town in a major key

He never put faith in an industry

He never was a cog in the machine

He dropped out of school and moved to the San Francisco Bay

Oh I will try til I won’t be denied

And I would give my whole heart for peace of mind

And I will shelter this little light of mine through stormy weather

If it takes forever

He lived in a bus and shaped his clay

A potter and an artist with no bills to pay

He was a drifting free spirit who lived for himself

Then he moved east to the great valley

He fell in love and she gave him three

And traded the clay for the trade of a hammer and a nail

Oh I will try til I won’t be denied

And I would give my whole heart for peace of mind

And I will shelter this little light of mine through stormy weather

If it takes forever

He worked his body til it worked no more

He gave his life for the lives of four

And when he retired he was content his cup overfilled

The story I’ve told is a common one

The man was real and I his son

I loved him so and now he’s gone but he lives on in me

Oh I will try til I won’t be denied

And I will give my whole heart for peace of mind

And I will shelter this little light of mine through stormy weather

Oh I will try til I won’t be denied

And I will give my whole heart for peace of mind

And I will shelter this little light of mine through stormy weather

If it takes forever