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