The Innocent Age

An only child alone and wild, a cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work
And his heart was known to none
He left his home and went his lone and solitary way
And he gave to me a gift I know I never can repay

A quiet man of music denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once, but his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love through discipline-- a thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand

Chorus:
The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band

My brothers' lives were different for they heard another call
One went to Chicago and the other to St. Paul
And I'm in Colorado when I'm not in some hotel
Living out this life I've chose and have come to know so well

I thank you for the music and your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough
And, papa, I don't think I said 'I love you' near enough

(Chorus)
I am a living legacy to the leader of the band

"Leader Of The Band"
Words and music by Daniel Fogelberg
Copyright 1981 Hickory Grove Music (ASCAP)

"If I think I could only have written one song in my life, it would have been 'Leader Of The Band.' Because what that meant to my father and to me -- there's no way I could quantify that or even explain it. My father passed away over ten years ago now, and he got to hear that song. He got to enjoy the success of that song. People were calling him on the phone and interviewing him in his last days. You know, 'who is this man -- the leader of the band,' you know? And he loved that, and I loved that, 'cause I respected him so much. I mean, he gave me everything I am, really. My mother and he were both musicians, and the idea of being a living legacy is really the truth. I don't think I'll ever be as accomplished a musician as he was, but I've had a different gift. It came to me in a different way. I've been able to reach and touch people with these songs that I write. And that one has probably touched more people more deeply than anything I've ever done. The song, 'Leader Of The Band' cemented our relationship. There was nothing left unsaid when he passed away."

-Dan Fogelberg, in an on-camera interview for the video Dan Fogelberg Live: Greetings From The West. Click HERE to watch this interview in streaming video.