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