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Serina Jung: Music & Lyrics

Take What You Can

(Serina Jung)
2003
Serina S. Jung

A very old woman and I "adopted" each other. I knew her only 3 years before she passed. We'd spend an hour or two, sipping tea at her kitchen table every few days, and I'd listen to her talk about her life, her thoughts on aging, her regrets,  her triumphs, her dreams, both realised and unfulfilled. I learned many things from her and I'm so grateful to have known her. This song was inspired by my wise friend with her youthful spirit and based on my own observations of people as they get older and adapt their life-views based on their new perspectives.

forever, togetherness, bliss

common delusions of love

but she'd been naive and believed once

love could be enough

 

now she thoughtfully pauses to stare

at her face so familiar, so changed

she vowed long ago she would leave him one day

but she stayed

 

time can be spiteful

its lessons learned too late

 

take what you can while you can

grab it and fly

while your heart can still pump

your legs can still run

don't worry too much if it's right or it's wrong

 

defeat marks the curve of her spine

and nightly, regret makes her bed

her tongue is silenced by too many

things left unsaid

 

tomorrow will bring her

bitter and cynical, grave and critical dread

 

take what you can while you can

take what you can while you can

while your heart can still pump

your legs can still run

don't worry too much

if it's right or it's wrong

take what you can while you can

grab it and fly

run, don't look behind

be selfish this time

take what you can while you can