brothers

Our father had a lot of painful memories
A bunch of shit he never shared
But when he died I went out looking for them
For all the things he never said

Thought he was born in 1948
But was born a whole decade before
Thought he was brought up in New Zealand
But he was born and brought up in Samoa

We thought that he was only half Samoan
That his mother was a German Jew
But I went and found his birth certificate
And he lied about that too

Our father's love was unmistakable and
He gave us everything he had
I guess the man pretending he was half white
To give his kids a better chance

My sister, she lives out in New York City
Been there since I was 17
I think she hates it but like most New Yorkers
She just can't bring herself to leave

She used to love to watch our father cooking
And imitate the things she'd seen
And now she makes the most amazing things
And she also sings better than me

And when he died she had her husband stayed
To keep my mother company
And even though it fucked them up a lot
They did a better job than me

And I wish that we could see them every weekend
And she could cook her famous meals
And I wish that I could hang out with her husband
More than a couple times a year

Our brother Wesley is a quiet man and
He is the second of us four
And he inherited our father's hands but
He looks like me a little more

He has a love that's unmistakable and
He's seen police brutality
He lives in Auckland with his wife and dog
And he stands a shade above 6'3"

Our father left him with a cousin and
He got into trouble frequently
Me and my sister only heard of him
In 2018

Our brother Matthew is a baker and he
Stands a mighty 7 feet
He was brought up in a Māori family
And speaks Te Reo fluently

He didn't know about our father 'till
I, I guess he was about 18
And he did some time for something awesome
And he's the sweetest guy you'll ever meet

He came to meet me at a festival
And he told me everything he knew
That our father left him at the hospital
But if he forgives him, then I should too

La-la-la-la-la-la
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I know our father had his reasons
But that can't never make it right or fair
I hate myself for stealing all his love when
My brothers thought that he was dead

So as I dig through the collateral
The secrets hid throughout the years
I know I'll hardly ever answer them
But it's a way to keep him near

La-la-la-la-la-la
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