The rooms were so much colder then 
My father was a soldier then 
And times were very hard 
When I was young 
When I was young 

I smoked my first cigarette at ten 
And for girls, I had a bad yen 
And I had quite a ball 
When I was young 

When I was young, it was more important 
Pain more painful 
Laughter much louder 
Yeah, when I was young 
When I was young 

I met my first love at thirteen 
She was brown and I was pretty green 
And I learned quite a lot when I was young 
When I was young 

When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful 
Laughter much louder 
Yeah, when I was young 
When I was young 

My faith was so much stronger then 
I believed in fellow man 
And I was so much older then 
When I was young 
When I was young 
When I was young