Sophie Tucker - Life Begins At Forty lyrics

I've often heard it said and sung That life is sweetest when you're young And kids, sixteen to twenty-one Think they're having all the fun I disagree, I say it isn't so And I'm one gal who ought to know I started young and I'm still going strong But I've learned as I've gone along....... That life begins at forty That's when love and living start to become a gentle art A woman who's been careful finds that's when she's in her prime And a good man when he's forty knows just how to take his time Conservative or sporty, it's not until you're forty That you learn the how and why and the what and when In the twenties and the thirties you want your love in large amounts But after you reach forty, it's the quality that counts Yes, life begins at forty And I've just begun to live all over again You see the sweetest things in life grow sweeter as the years roll on Like the music from a violin that has been well played upon And the sweetest smoke is from a mellow, broken and old pipe And the sweetest tasting peach is one that's mature, round and ripe In the twenties and the thirties you're just an amateur But after you reach forty, that's when you become a connoisseur Then it isn't grab and get it and a straight line for the door You're not hasty, you're tasty, you enjoy things so much more For instance, a novice gulps his brandy down, he doesn't understand Observe a connoisseur, the way he holds it in his hand How he strokes the gla**, fondles it, warms it as he should Smaks his lips, aahhh, slowly sips, hah, boy, it tastes good Life begins at forty Then it isn't hit and run and you find much more fun You romance a girl of twenty and it costs you all your dough But when a forty thanks you, she hates to see you go And girls of twenty, all they want are big men Big men with strong physiques I don't say that it's bad But you do get tired of those damn Greeks Life begins at forty And I'm just living all over again