Honest Lullaby

Early early in the game I taught myself to sing and play And use a little trickery On kids who never favored me Those were years of crinoline slips And cotton skirts and swinging hips And dangerously painted lips And stars of stage and screen Pedal pushers, ankle socks Padded bras and campus jocks Who hid their vernal equinox In pairs of faded jeans And slept at home resentfully Coveting their dreams And often have I wondered How the years and I survived I had a mother who sang to me An honest lullaby Yellow, brown, and black and white Our Father bless us all tonight I bowed my head at the football games And closed the prayer in Jesus' name Lusting after football heroes Tough Pachuco, little Neroes Forfeiting my A's for zeroes Futures unforeseen Spending all my energy In keeping my virginity And living in a fantasy In love with Jimmy Dean If you will be my king, Jimmy, Jimmy I will be your queen And often have I wondered How the years and I survived I had a mother who sang to me An honest lullaby I travelled all around the world And knew more than the other girls Of foreign languages and schools Paris, Rome and Istanbul But those things never worked for me The town was much too small you see And people have a way of being Even smaller yet But all the same though life is hard And no one promised me a garden Of roses, so I did okay I took what I could get And did the things that I might do For those less fortunate And often have I wondered How the years and I survived I had a mother who sang to me An honest lullaby Now look at you, you must be growing A quarter of an inch a day You've already lived near half the years You'll be when you go away With your teddy bears and alligators Enterprise communicators All the tiny aviators head into the sky And while the others play with you I hope to find a way with you And sometimes spend a day with you I'll catch you as you fly Or if I'm worth a mother's salt I'll wave as you go by And if you should ever wonder How the years and you'll survive Honey, you've got a mother who sings to you Dances on the strings for you Opens her heart and brings to you An honest lullaby