I said, Grandpa what's this picture here
It's all black and white and ain't real clear
Is that you there? he said yeah, I was eleven
Times were tough back in thirty-five
That's me and Uncle Joe just trying to survive
A cotton farm in the Great Depression

And if it looks
like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids
just trying to save each other
You should have seen it in color

This one here
was taken overseas
In the middle of hell
in nineteen forty-three
In the winter time
you can almost see my breath
That was my tail gunner
ole' Johnny McGee
He was a high school teacher
from New Orleans
And he had my back
right through the day we left

And if it looks
like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids
just trying to save each other
You should have seen it in color

A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades
of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color

This one is my favorite one
This is me and grandma when summer sun
All dressed up the day we said our vows
You can't tell it here
but it was hot that June
That rose was red and her eyes were blue
And just look at that smile I was so proud

That's the story of my life
Right there in black and white

And if it looks
like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids
just trying to save each other
You should have seen it in color

A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades
of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color