In the ancient middle fifties, the closin' sixties roar
I was caught up in your passion,
I could only beg for more
And if I had a dollar bill I'd give it to you then
So I could tell the whole wide world
One day I knew you when
With your dangerous charisma
Your thundering attack
You charged the very air I breathe,
And kept me coming back
You helped me through my darkest hours,
You always were my friend
You gave me hope to carry on
Because I knew you when
I knew you when the mountain tops were right beneath your feet
When artistry and freedom were complete
Before you were an icon, before they all too came
You could say I knew you when
We all sit here with our memories, of a glorious long ago
When our heroes seemed immortal, were they really so
It's a question for a wiser man
I will not ask again
I will only say I'm grateful,
For the time I knew you when
I knew you when (I knew you when)
Oh, I knew you when
I knew you when (I knew you when)
Yeah I knew you when
I knew you when (I knew you when)
Yeah I knew you when