Once upon a time,

A girl with moonlight in her eyes,

Put her hand in mine,

And said she loved me so . . .

But that was once upon a time,

Very long ago!



Once upon a hill,

we sat beneath the willow tree,

Counting all the stars,

And waiting for the dawn,

But that was once upon a time,

Now, the tree is gone!



How the breeze ruffled through her hair,

How we always laughed,

As though tomorrow wasnt there . . .

We were young,

And didnt have a care,

Where did it go?



Once upon a time,

The world was sweeter than we knew,

Everything was ours,

How happy we were then . . .

But, somehow, once upon a time,

Never comes again!



~ from the 1962 Stage musical "All American"

Music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams