[Verse 1] When I was young I planted a tree Beside an old fence line It barely reached above my knee A fragile little sign I watered it through summer heat Through springtime mud and rain And every year I’d look for blooms But left much the same [Chorus] Oh, the beauty was becoming Though I couldn’t see it then Quiet as the morning light Returning now and then Some things bloom in seasons Some take longer than we know The sweetest things in life, my friend Are often slow to grow [Verse 2] The years rolled by like river water Children came and went The paint peeled off the porch boards The fence began to bend The little tree kept reaching up Though not enough to see And while I thought I was watching it It was watching me [Chorus] Oh, the beauty was becoming Though I couldn’t see it then Quiet as the turning leaves Returning now again Some things bloom in moments Some bloom after winters long The sweetest things in life, my friend Take years to find their song [Bridge] One autumn in the golden light I walked out through the field The branches stretched across the sky Heavy with their yield Birds were singing in the canopy Children laughed below And standing there beneath its shade I felt something I didn’t know [Breakdown] The tree was old And so was I Both silvered by the years Both marked by storms And summer suns And laughter Love And tears [Final Chorus] Oh, the beauty was becoming Every day beneath the sun Not arriving all at once But gathering one by one Some things bloom in springtime Some bloom when the seasons slow The sweetest things in life, my friend Are the things we help to grow [Outro] When I was young I planted a tree Beside an old fence line I thought I was raising something then But it was raising me with time
