Next time we’re sixteen

Five miles apart, on the phone all night,

Whispering as we turn off the lights,

When we hate to say goodbye

I’ll know it’s right

 

And next time we’re seventeen,

Lying on the dock on a moonlit night,

Rocked by the lake under stars so bright,

When your fingers touch mine

I’ll know it’s right

 

But it had to be now, it couldn’t be then

I’m ready, you’re ready

To love away the lonely times when I was yours and you were mine

Too far away in space and time

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

 

Babe, next time we’re eighteen

And leaving that small town behind,

Wherever you go I’ll stay close 

Beside you and we’ll make it together,

Cause we know it’s right

 

And next time we’re nineteen,

Cuddled on a sofa on a rainy day,

Reading in silence, when you look my way

I won’t look away, I won’t be afraid,

I know you’re right.

 

But it had to be now, it couldn’t be then

I’m ready, you’re ready

To love away the lonely times when I was yours and you were mine

Too far away in space and time

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

 

Next time we’re twenty-one

And I say hey in ten years' time,

if we’re both single, will you be mine?

Don’t say yes, negotiate a closer date

Cause you know it’s right

 

Honey, next time we’re twenty-three,

I'll tell you sooner how I feel

And you won’t say you’re head over heels

With another girl,

Because we know it’s right

 

But it had to be now, it couldn’t be then

I’m ready, you’re ready

To love away the lonely times when I was yours and you were mine

Too far away in space and time

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

 

Dear, next time we’re twenty-nine,

And you get divorced, pick up the phone.

With my bow and arrow, I'll fight for my freedom

that came too late this time.

The timing’s wrong but we’re still right.

 

Love, next time we’re alive

Will I do you better,  will you do me better?

But life’s not over and we may be older,

Wise enough to see the way forward,

Spend this time together and always remember

 

That it had to be now, it couldn’t be then

I’m ready, you’re ready

To love away the lonely times when I was yours and you were mine

Too far away in space and time

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long

To love hard and love strong and love soft and love long