JOLTIN' JOE HAS LEFT AND GONE AWAY

I never saw DiMaggio play, nobody my age ever did
He was a name spoken in whispers, back when I was just a kid
Drysdale, Maris and Mantle, Brooks and Willie Mays
My heroes stood in his shadow in a game for different days

Number 7 took over center field, but he could never be Joltin' Joe
He couldn't match Joe's easy grace, he'd never marry Marilyn Monroe
Now in this age of spoiled millionaires, instant stars, and artificial grass
I wonder what Joe D' was thinking, as he watched the century pass

A few have hit for higher average, I wouldn't claim that's not the case
But baseball isn't about reading stats, it's seeing Joe round second base
He played for the kid in the cheap seats who'd never seen the game before
He had the grace to leave when he still could honor the uniform he wore

Now I'm just like everybody else these days, cynical and confused
My innocence died in the 60's, as I watched the evening news
This morning as I tuned to CNN, I'm not ashamed to say I cried
But I raised my cup to the Yankee Clipper and the part of us that died