(Intro) Verse 1 We were four upon a road That seemed to have no end, Four young men with borrowed dreams, Four strangers learning friends. We shared the stage, we shared the sound, We shared the world outside, But every heart has roads of its own, And every road divides. Verse 2 John went looking for a truth That no one else could see, Paul was writing melodies That carried you and me. Ringo laughed and kept the beat, While I was turning east, Looking for the quiet place Where all our searching ceased. Chorus And the years go by, And the years go by, What seemed so close can drift away. But love can change its shape Without completely dying, And yesterday can live inside today. Verse 3 There were words we should have said, And words we said too soon, Doors that closed in anger In the shadow of the moon. The songs remained when we were gone, Still ringing through the air, Four voices caught in harmony, Though four lives were never there. Verse 4 Then John was gone, and suddenly The distance had a name, And every old resentment Could never be the same. Paul reached out, and Ringo stayed, And memories filled the room; Sometimes loss can teach the heart What pride refuses to assume. Chorus And the years go by, And the years go by, What seemed so far can come so near. The people we once were Still speak through what we've left behind, And yesterday grows clearer through the years. Bridge We thought that we were changing Every rule that came before, But time was changing all of us Much more than we could know. The world moved on around us, The records gathered dust, But somewhere underneath it all There remained a little trust. Verse 5 Now the voices come together From a distance none can see, Not the boys we were together, But the men we came to be. No need to turn the clock around, No need to make it new; The years have written their own song, And every line rings true. Final Chorus And the years go by, And the years go by, The road was never straight or clear. We lost our way, we found our way, We laughed and loved and changed, And somehow four young dreamers Still remain here. Outro Not within you, Not without you, But somewhere in between — In every song we left behind, And every dream we've seen. The years go by... The years go by... And still the music plays. (Outro)
