Keep On Living

[Verse 1] Almost sixty-nine and my life’s been a long, long day, I’m still living while I watch my friends pass away. Cancer took my mom when she was only fifty-three, Bill Byrnes, a week younger than me, Said he’d visit for Christmas… found him on the floor Twenty-five years ago, and he ain’t coming back no more. [Verse 2] Doctors killed my dad at sixty-eight, Turned that heart-lung machine the wrong way, Filter contents destroyed his lungs that day. Dotsie and Clay taken by a truck driver’s carelessness, Only lived a quarter of the years they should’ve possessed. [Chorus] But I’m gonna keep on living, I’m gonna keep on living, Through every loss and every scar the years keep giving. I carry their spirits in my memory, They still live with me. I’m gonna keep on living, Right up to one-hundred-and-three, I didn’t come this far to quit before I’m done. [Verse 3] Treasure hunters seeking wealth and fame, Took foolish chances, ain’t in the game. Deadly untested vaccines they pushed and forced, Took my friends’ lives, gave another a quadruple bypass at forty-four. I didn’t trust it… and I’m still here. We all know someone who ended their own life in despair. [Verse 4] Navy poisoned me with fire-fighting foam, Damaged my adrenals, left me on my own. Fifty years later I finally got the steroids I need, Now I can breathe again and plant a stronger seed. [Chorus] I’m gonna keep on living, I’m gonna keep on living, Through every loss and every scar the years keep giving. I carry their spirits in my memory, They still live with me. I’m gonna keep on living, Right up to one-hundred-and-three, I didn’t come this far to quit before I’m done. [Bridge] I’ve buried too many, watched too many fall, But I’m still standing after facing it all. Their voices still echo, their faces still clear, They walk beside me year after year. [Final Chorus] I’m gonna keep on living, I’m gonna keep on living, Through every loss and every scar the years keep giving. I carry their spirits in my memory, They still live with me. I’m gonna keep on living, Right up to one-hundred-and-three, I didn’t come this far… to quit before I’m done. [Outro] Almost sixty-nine… But I ain’t done yet. Their spirits still with me… I’m gonna keep on living.