His name was Tony Paladini,
And he was sixty one.
Had a lonely life,
Without a wife,
There weren't  any little ones.

But he dreamed,
And he dreamed...
The way that he'd always done,
Of a family of his own,
Six hearts could beat as one.
Got on the bus each day at six AM.
Got off and walked ten blocks ,or more,
Thinking about the family that he'd have one day,
As he made his way to the corner store.

But Tony,
He was different from the other guys.
He never had any thoughts about stock broker buys,
He baked long hours
Each and every day.
For forty three years and eight months,
It had always been the very same way.

But his world was different and he was all alone,
He never had a family that he could call his own,
Those pale eyes of his could barely see,
And polio had claimed his legs
Just below the knees.
But on and on he went,
Never missed a day.
His words were few,
His speech was poor,
And no one asked for any more.
Tony knew the game,
And yes he knew the score.
For him there never were any open doors.

But on and on he went,
And still he always dreamed,
Of a daughter that he named Mary,
And a son that he'd call little Steve.
And of course there'd  always be his loving wife.
You know she'd been there right through his entire life.
And he loved her, loved her, loved her like a teen.
And  he dreamed and dreamed of their own family.
And he cried, and cried, and cried the night away.
Why must every day be longer than yesterday.

But Tony's out there praying,
And believing in his life.
Maybe no one else can see her,
But he has always had his wife.
And Little Stevie he'll be home right after his baseball game.
And Tony tightens his jacket against the driving rain,
And smiles to himself,
For he knows for what it's worth,
That his life wouldn't be worth the living,
With his dreams up on the shelf.

And God you know he loves her,
He loves her like a teen,
And he dreams each and every night,
Of his very own family.
And it's sad. It's sad to see him crying,
But his life has taken everything,
For  sixty one years it has always been the same,
But never without the dream.