When I was seventeen it was a very good year
It was a very good year for small town girls and soft summer nights
We'd hide from the lights on the village green
When I was seventeen

When I was twenty-one it was a very good year
It was a very good year for city girls who lived up the stair
With all that perfumed hair and it came undone
When I was twenty-one

Then I was thirty-five it was a very good year
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls
Of independent means, we'd ride in limousines their chauffeurs would drive
When I was thirty-five

But now the days grow short, I'm in the autumn of the year
And now I think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs
But from the brim to the dregs, it poured sweet and clear
It was a very good year

Seal

Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (born 19 February 1963), better known by his stage name Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and is known for his numerous international hits, including his 1994 song “Kiss from a Rose.”