The story behind this song
For forty years the alarm went off for everyone else. Lunches packed by lamplight, keys and coats and somebody's lost left shoe, bus times learned better than the drivers knew them. She kept the whole machine running and nobody ever asked what she was running toward. This morning the alarm stayed quiet, and the kitchen calendar is finally, gloriously blank.
There's a packet of seeds by the back door and a brand-new passport on the counter. An old list from '89 still says "Someday: Paris, piano, learn to swim." For the mom whose time, at long last, is her own.
Lyrics
And nobody needed you first
Keys and coats and somebody's lost left shoe
You learned the bus times better than the drivers
And nobody ever asked what you were running to
And blank looks good on you
Your time now — book the window seat
Dust off the paints you shelved when we were little
Mama, the days are finally yours to keep
It's your time now
Not drowned out by a hallway full of noise
Seeds still in the packet by the back door
A garden waiting on the woman we enjoyed
Now watch us watching you
Your time now — book the window seat
Dust off the paints you shelved when we were little
Mama, the days are finally yours to keep
It's your time now
"Someday: Paris, piano, learn to swim"
Someday just showed up at your front door, Mama
Go on and let it in
Your time now — book the window seat
Dust off the paints you shelved when we were little
Mama, the days are finally yours to keep
It's your time now
It's your time now — go
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