Standard (EADGBE)

Intro

Verse 1

 Oh this son of mine I love so well

 And all the toil it takes

 I’d 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 I’m breathless

 And he’d 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 it’s 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 they’re 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