Sweet summer evenings, hot wine and bread Sharing your supper, sharing your bed Simple joys have a simple voice It says, "Why not go ahead?" And wouldn't you rather be a left-handed flea Or a crab on a slab at the bottom of the sea Than a man who never learns how to be free Not 'til he's cold and dead
Well, I'll sing you a story of a sorrowful lad Had everything he wanted, didn't want what he had He had wealth and pelf and name and fame and all of that noise But he didn't have none of those simple joys His life seemed purposeless and flat Aren't you glad you don't feel like that?
So he ran from all the deeds he'd done, he ran from things he'd just begun He ran from himself, which was mighty far to run Out into the country where he'd played as a boy 'Cause he knew he had to find him some simple joy He wanted someplace warm and green We all could use a change of scene
Sweet summer evenings, so full of sound Gaining a lover, gaining a pound Simple joys have a simple voice It says, "Take a look around" And wouldn't you rather be a left-handed flea Or a crab on a slab at the bottom of the sea Or a newt on the root of a banyan tree Than a man who never learns how to be free Not 'til he's underground
Sweet summer evenings, sapphire skies Feasting your belly, feasting your eyes Simple joys have a simple voice It says, "Time is living's prize" And wouldn't you rather be a left-handed flea Or a crab on a slab at the bottom of the sea Or a newt on the root of a banyan tree Or a fig on a twig in Galilee Than a man who never learns how to be free Not 'til the day he, not 'til the day he Not 'til the day, not 'til the day he Dies! Nah nah nah ...