Parade Days

She was born into mourning With some war winding down And if her uncle was gone at least she'll be around At least she'll be around Her folks were good neighbors A dish when somebody died When the parish did dances She mostly used to stand off to the side A Pontiac salesman And a beauty technician A young mother and father And all the things they wanted for their daughter And school was a stockyard They just tried to hold 'em They didn’t hold too hard On the bus with her headphones Breathing steam in the window Joining forces in boredom With the boys down at the bluffs all breaking bottles Then school was just over Saw an ad in the paper A half-life in housewares On the escalator up to downtown Dayton's On the sidewalk with sparklers In the distance the drummers Her favorite part of the summer Her mother with cupcakes Her father with handshakes It's an honor and a pleasure To present to you the new Queen of the Lakes In the grey of the breakroom There's a tear on the fabric The house is all hers now The first time she noticed The bags at the bus stop Our pleasure to present to you the new Queen of the Lakes