Written by richard leigh and robert byrne

He raced that engine down the track 'round the tree on christmas day
I was so amazed my dad would play with trains
I saw a sparkle in his eye, then i heard him say, come on son let's play, i
Was young once, too

He washed that buick faithfully, lord he kept her clean
I thought that machine meant more to him than me
On the day i turned sixteen he threw me the keys
Said i was young once, too, now she belongs to you

He was such a young man then, i'm older than that now
I hope i measure up to him, when the circle comes around

I saw him in the attic sittin' cross legged on the floor
With some old photographs, he point and laughed
He said, that's me in that picture, i said, no son, that's your dad
I was young once, too, and looked a lot like you

I was young once, too, i was young once, too
Merry christmas son, i wish your grandpa were here
He was young once, too, and looked like me and you