This song is one of my personal favorites of Kate's works, and the memories I have of the times when we were having song circles before they were called song circles, just a few of us, or several, in the old Crossing guild, when she would sing this song, are some of my most cherished.

This is one of Mckatelee's greatest, but not quite so cheerful songs, in which she sung of perhaps the most important lesson anyone can learn.

As Mckatelee plinks her violin, a gentle lullaby drifts through the air with a sweet melodiousness.

Mckatelee tiredly sings in a tenor voice:

"There once was a man who yearned to paint
To create with his hands the world in his mind
But he chose the worn path he was expected to take
And if you look at him now, you will fiind:
At the age of just 40, a weary old miller
All of his artistic spirit drained away
He looks down at his calloused, gnarled hands
"If only, if only," he seems to say..."

Mckatelee sadly sings in a tenor voice:

"There once was a lass with a hidden heart
She silently loved from afar a lad
But never spoke one word of her love
And always regretted what she could have had
And he, for his part, was in love with her
But didn't know she wanted him to stay
So they two are alone and lonely and old
"If only, if only" is all they can say...""

Mckatelee haggardly sings in a tenor voice:

"There once was a wench who worked in the inn
She'd look with envy on the roving bard
And daydream of singing for kings and queens
But always assumed it would be too hard.
So now, she's just an old bar maid
With old dreams of fame she'll never attain
With a pitcher of ale in each hand she sings
"If only, if only" is her constant refrain."

Mckatelee sings in a tenor voice:

"There's a moral to this story
There's a reason for this theme
Sieze the moment when it strikes you
Try to realize each dream
For that dream, tis yer calling
And that dream tis never wrong
Answer it, and "if only"
Will be someone else's song."