<Tr> <Td> "Nobody's Perfect" (1988) </Td> <Td> "The Living Years" (1988) </Td> <Td> "Seeing Is Believing" (1989) </Td> </Tr> <P> "The Living Years" is a ballad written by Mike Rutherford and B.A. Robertson, and recorded by Rutherford's English rock band Mike + The Mechanics . It was released in December 1988 in the UK and in the US as the second single from their album Living Years . The song was a chart hit around the world, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 on 25 March 1989, and reaching No. 1 in Canada and Australia and No. 2 in the UK . It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart . Paul Carrack sings lead vocals on the track . </P> <P> The song addresses a son's regret over unresolved conflict with his now - deceased father . It won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically & Lyrically in 1989, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1990 . In 1996, famed composer Burt Bacharach opined: "' The Living Years' is one of the finest lyrics of the last 10 years ." </P> <P> In 2004, "The Living Years" was awarded a 4 Million - Air citation by BMI . </P>

What is the meaning of the song the living years