Song Lyrics

It's been 20 years since I've been on this playground
This place has seen a lot of change
The monkey bars and swings, the sandbox and the rings
Seems like everything's been rearranged

The merry -go-round is in the middle
The seesaw was moved to the side
The grass where we looked for 4-leaf clovers
Has been covered by a giant plastic slide

So I'm sitting on this bench just reminiscing
About the years when all I had to do was play
When I could make a moment last forever
And I could fit forever in a day

Since then, a lot of things have happened
I've been around the world a couple times
I've watched us go to war, not always known what for
I've seen us all commit every kind of crime

So I wonder if I've turned into a cynic
If growing up means giving up your joy
Just for a moment, I let myself imagine
That once again, I'm just a little boy

Cuz then I'd prob'ly go right to the sandbox
And ask if they had space for just one more
Then play hide and seek along the banks of the creek
Buy baseball cards at the general store
But instead I to the old pavilion
Where the parents sit with a watchful eye
Everything looks different from their viewpoint
I get confused when I feel like I could cry

Maybe this place hasn't really changed at all
It's still whatever children make it be
There's a little dark-hired boy teasing all the girls
And I swear he looks a lot like me

As I watch the sweet commotion, I feel a strange emotion
I catch a glimpse of truth that looks so strange
It's my turn to go through what everybody goes through
And realize that I'm the on who's changed.

I check my watch and can't believe the time
The afternoon is coming to a close
I sit down on a swing; throw my head back in the air
And celebrate what my heart now knows.

Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Nicholas Simper, Ritchie Blackmore

The duration of Playground is 4:10 minutes and seconds.