[BERTHE]
When you are as old as I, my dear
And I hope that you never are
You will woefully wonder why, my dear
Through your cataracts and catarrh
You could squander away or sequester
A drop of a precious year
For when your best days are yester'
The rest 'er twice as dear

What good is a field on a fine summer night
If you sit all alone with the weeds?
Or a succulent pear if with each juicy bite
You spit out your teeth with the seeds?
Before it's too late, stop trying to wait
For fortune and fate you're secure of
For there's one thing to be sure of, mate:
There's nothing to be sure of

Oh, it's time to start livin'
Time to take a little from the world we're given
Time to take time, for spring will turn to fall
In just no time at all

I've never wondered if I was afraid
When there was a challenge to take
And I've never thought about how much I weighed
When there was still one piece of cake
Now, maybe it's meant the hours I've spent
Feeling broken and bent and unwell
But there's still no cure so heaven-sent
As the chance to raise some hell
Oh, it's time to start livin'
Time to take a little from the world we're given
Time to take time, for spring will turn to fall
In just no time at all

Now when the drearies do attack
Or a siege of the sads begins
I throw these regal shoulders back
And lift these noble chins

Give me a man who is handsome and strong
Someone who's stalwart and steady
Give me a night that's romantic and long
Then give me a month to get ready
Now I could waylay some aging roué
And persuade him to play in some cranny
But it's hard to believe I'm being led astray
By a man who calls me granny

[BERTHE, spoken]
Hit it, boys!
Play your little hearts out!

[BERTHE]
Sages tweet that age is sweet
Good deeds and good works earn you laurels
But what could make you feel more obsolete
Than being noted for your morals?
Now, here is a secret I never have told
Maybe you'll understand why
I believe if I refuse to grow old
I can be young 'til I die
Now, I've known the fears of sixty-six years
I've had troubles and tears by the score
But the only thing I'd trade them for
Is sixty-seven more

Oh, it's time to start livin'
Time to keep on takin' from the world I'm given
You are my time, so I'll throw off my shawl
Watching your flings be flung all over
Makes me feel young all over
In just no time at all
Oh yeah!