The lyric looks beyond the current couple to earlier care, growth and influence. Its recurring invitation to give thanks is gentle rather than satirical. The source credits the words to Lehrer and notes two musical settings, one by Lehrer and one by Michael Gould. All seven printed blocks are retained; neither setting or a particular recording is reproduced or inferred.
Once upon a timeless past
Someone with a faceless name
Opened a door for you,
Opened much more for you.
Maybe that was miles ago,
But he is with you just the same.
He helped you to be
What you are to me
Today.
So now it's me, and now it's you, and now it's us
But it didn't,
No, it didn't have to be,
And so when you see him,
If you ever see him,
Thank him for me.
Miracles don't just appear fully grown.
They start off as wonders
That have to be tended
And nourished and mended
Until they are splendid
Enough to go out on their own.
And somewhere in the timeless past
Is someone to be grateful to,
Like yesterday's vine
That made today's wine.
Maybe he has someone now
Who's happy that a part of you
Is somehow still his,
Wherever he is
Today.
And now it's me, and now it's you, and now it's us.
And it didn't,
No, it didn't have to be,
And so when you see him,
If you ever see him,
Thank him for me.