Standard (EADGBE)
Intro
Verse 1
Oh this son of mine I love so well
And all the toil it takes
Id give to him a garden
and keep it clear of snakes
But the one thing he most treasures
Is to make his own mistakes - ohhh
He goes charging on the cliffs of life
A reckless mountaineer
I could help him not to stumble
I could warn him what to fear
I could shout until Im breathless
And hed still refuse to hear - ohhh
Chorus
But you cannot close the acorn
Once the oak begins to grow
And you cannot close your heart
To what it fears and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
Is the letting go
Verse 2
As a child I found a sparrow
Who had fallen from the nest
And I nursed him back to health
Till he was stronger than the rest
But when I tried to hold it
It would peck and scratch my chest
Till I let it go
And I watched it fly away from me
With its brightened self resolve
And part of me was cursing
I had helped it grow so strong
And I feared it might go hungry
And I feared it might go wrong - ohhh
Chorus
But I could not close the acorn
Once the oak began to grow
And I cannot close my heart
To what it fears and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
Is the letting go
And its only in Eden
Grows a rose without a thorn
And your children start to leave you
On the day that they were born
They will leave you there to cheer for them
They will leave you there to mourn ever so
Like an ark on uncharted seas
Their lives will be tossed
And deeper is your love for them
The crueler is the cost
And just when they start to find themselves
Is when you fear theyre lost - ohhh
Chorus
But you cannot close the acorn
Once the oak begins to grow
And you cannot close your heart
To what it fears and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
And the rarest part of love
And the truest part of love
Is the letting go