silver dagger

[Verse 1]

Don't sing love songs, you'll wake my mother

She's sleeping here right by my side

And in her right hand, a silver dagger

She says that I can't be your bride

[Verse 2]

All men are false, says my mother

They'll tell you wicked, lovin' lies

The very next evening, they'll court another

Leave you alone to pine and sigh

[Verse 3]

My daddy is a handsome devil

He's got a chain five miles long

And on every link, a heart does dangle

From another maid he's loved and wronged

[Verse 4]

Go court another tender maiden

And hope that she will be your bride

For I have been warned and I've decided

To sleep alone all of my life

[Outro]

I think my mother was so brave, Jessica

Ya know, and if you know what was going on in 1950 with unwed mothers, you would think she was the bravest person you ever knew

Because for nine months, and I'm gonna cry, for nine months she carried me and nobody knew

Nobody knew until the day I was delivered

She didn't tell her father for almost three years

So Granny never told you who your biological father was or what he did, she went to the grave with that secret, she had your birth certificate sealed

It was fine with me, Jessica

My mother didn't marry him for a reason

You can read history about then, it was a terrible time for women… please

You married for money

You were kind of chattel

Something was wrong with you if you didn't get married

I just think my mother was so brave and so strong