Honest Lullaby
Early, early in the gameI taught myself to sing and playAnd use a little trickeryOn kids who never favored meThose were years of crinoline slipsAnd cotton skirts and swinging hipsAnd dangerously painted lipsAnd stars of stage and screenPedal pushers, ankle socksPadded bras and campus jocksWho hid their vernal equinoxIn pairs of faded jeansAnd slept at home resentfullyCoveting their dreams
And I look around and I wonderHow the years and I survivedI had a mother who sang to meAn honest lullaby
Yellow, brown, and black and whiteOur Father, bless us all tonightI bowed my head at the football gamesAnd closed the prayer in Jesus' nameLusted after football heroesTough Pachuco, little NeroesForfeiting my A's for zeroesFutures unforeseenSpending all my energyIn keeping my virginityAnd living in a fantasyIn love with Jimmy DeanIf you will be my king, Jimmy JimmyI will be your queen
I look around and I wonderHow the years and I survivedI had a mother who sang to meAn honest lullaby
I travelled all around the worldAnd knew more than the other girlsOf foreign languages and schoolsParis, Rome and IstanbulThose things never worked for meThe town was much too small, you seeAnd people have a way of beingEven smaller yetBut all the same though life is hardAnd no one promised me a gardenOf roses, so I did okayI took what I could getAnd did the things that I might doFor those less fortunate
I look around and I wonderHow the years and I survivedMust have had a mother who sang to meAn honest lullaby
Now look at you, you must be growingA quarter of an inch a dayYou've already lived near half the yearsYou'll be when you go awayWith your teddy bears and alligatorsEnterprise communicatorsAll the tiny aviators head into the skyAnd while the others play with youI hope to find a way with youAnd sometimes spend a day with youI'll catch you as you flyOr if I'm worth a mother's saltI'll wave as you go by
And if you look around and you wonderHow the years and you'll surviveHoney, you've got a mother who sings to youDances on the strings for youOpens her heart and brings to youAn honest lullaby