(Dolly Parton)



As we were dressing to go out our little girl and boy

Came in and asked if they could go this time

We told them little girls and boys don't belong at parties

And that they should be in bed asleep by nine.



The babysitter came in then

And we kissed the kids goodbye

And told them that we'd be home soon

And told them not to cry.



Then we left for the party

Like we'd so often done

Thinking only of ourselves

And not our little ones.



The party started out wild

And it grew wilder as the night wore on

With drinking, laughing, telling dirty jokes

Nobody thinkin' of home.



Then the strangest feeling came over me

And it chilled me to the bones

And I told my wife that we'd better leave the party

'Cause I felt that we were needed at home.



As we rode along I got to thinking

Of how the kids that morning had asked

If we would take them to church the next day

And how I'd put 'em off like I'd so often done.



By saying we'd probably get home too late

Then my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens

As they cut through the still night air

Then we turned down our street that's when we saw the fire.



The rest was like a nightmare

We took their little bodies to church the next day

Though we'd left the party early

We still got home too late...