It’s not what you think
So she says the topic du jour is warrant. Well, I�ve got something deep today.
(Oo it must be magic, How inside your eyes I see my destiny, Every time we kiss, I feel you breathe your love so deep inside of me, And if the moon and stars should fall, They’d be easy to replace, I would lift you up to heaven, And you would take their place, Then I saw red, When I opened up the door, I saw red, Heart just spilled on to the floor, And I didn’t need to see his face, I saw yours, I saw red then I closed the door, I don’t think I’m gonna love you anymore)
I was 11, maybe 12. Amanda (yes this is her real name) and I were best of friends. She was my first best friend. If I had known how things would go down, I don�t know that I would have made the effort. But I made the effort and there we were one day going through the junk in her room.
(Just for the record let’s get the story straight, Me and Uncle Tom were fishin’ it was gettin’, Pretty late, Out on a cypress limb above the wishin’ well, Where they say it got no, bottom say it take, You down to Hell, Over in the bushes and off to the right, Come two men talkin’ in the pale moonlight, Sheriff John Brady and Deputy Hedge, Haulin’ two limp bodies down to the water’s edge, I know a secret down at Uncle Tom’s Cabin oh yea, I know a secret that I just can’t tell)
The official parental mandate went something like: �If you don�t clean that fucking room of your I am going to kick your ass. And when your father gets home, he�s going to get you.� Clean her room we did. We didn�t know enough to tell anyone else what was going on, her parents really did beat the shit out of her, but we thought if we cleaned, at least that night she would be safe.
(Well I heard mama late last night, She was talking to my father, Now it’s time that boy was shipping out, And I mean come hell or high water, Smokes and spits and drinks and fights, And his friends all look like trouble, Oh he sleeps all day and gone all night, Where’s that boy I used to cuddle, Ten good years and then, He must have gone insane, You’re the only hell, Your mama ever raised, She tried to tell you, But you got to do things your own way, Says you’re a good boy and, That you must be going through some phase, You’re the only hell your mama ever raised, Mama ever raised, Mama ever, Mama ever raised)
The tape was in a box with a bunch of other tapes. She didn�t even look up when I asked if I could have it. Without even thinking she said: �Sure, take whatever you want.�
(Well Suize, Oh Suzie, Come on and let me in, There’s love in the air, Love on my mind, Love in the pores of my skin, I worked real hard, all week long, Kept on singin’ the same damn song, It’s one for the money, Two for the show, Paid on Friday and I’m ready to go, And if I’m wrong or if I’m right, I don’t give a damn tonight, You bring out the worst in me, Huh, cuz you might be bad, But sure feels good to me, it sure feels good to me, Sure feels good, Sure feels good to me)
Sometime, maybe two years later, the entire family relocated to Missouri�Mound City, Missouri and my best friend�s life took a turn for the worse. She dropped out of school (the girls there would jump her in fields and then she would get in trouble for causing trouble), had three abortions, found a job at Denny�s, got pregnant again, got married, had another baby, and finally turned 18.
(Swingin’ on the front porch, Swingin’ on the lawn, Swingin’ where we want, ‘Cause there ain’t nobody home, Swingin’ to the left, And swingin’ to the right, If I think about baseball, I’ll swing all night yea, Swingin’ in the living room, Swingin’ in the kitchen, Most folks don’t ‘cause, They’re too busy bitchin’, Swingin’ in there ‘cause, She wanted me to feed her, So I mixed up the batter, And she licked the beater, I scream you scream, We all scream for her, Don’t even try ‘cause, You can’t ignore her, She’s my cherry pie, Cool drink of water, Such a sweet surprise, Tastes so good, Make a grown man cry, Sweet cherry pie oh yea, She’s my cherry pie)
The tape is long gone. I still know the words to every song, but I wouldn�t want to hear them.
(It could have rained for forty weeks dear, I’d have never known the difference, When your life is one long downpour, You don’t think you’ll go the distance, You come along with a patch of blue sky, Inside your arms I found a place that’s warm, And dry, Mister Rainmaker don’t waste your time, I found a girl who is permanent sunshine, She is the little queen of all my dreams, Carry on and find someone else to rain on)