I sigh at the heartaches, relive the laughs
 And I think about the moments that have left their mark
 And the too few faces that shine a little light in the dark

 If you don't mind I'm gonna tell you a story
 And I think that it won't bore you
 For it's a tale that I've never told
 To anyone before you-- 'cause it's for you

 The sun of sixteen summers had put halos in your hair
 If anything was in my head, twelve winters put it there
 A dollar an hour is what Mama paid you to come and mind her kids
 But no one could really pay you enough for what you really did

 Many happy things keep happening
 On my journey through this world
 And in many ways, that I will never understand
 I was much too late
 To be the first to make you a woman
 But you were the one
 Who made my mother's son a man

 You know I used to read myself to sleep when I went to bed
 I guess I was a dreamer then who lived inside my head
 But the nights that you came you talked of things, I found I had a friend
 You brought my fears of people to a sure and gentle end

 Many happy things keep happening
 On my journey through this world
 And in many ways, that I will never understand
 I was much too late
 To be the first to make you a woman
 But you were the one
 Who made my mother's son a man

 Do you remember the night when you turned out the light
 And said to me: "Please hold me"
 I did not know which way to go
 So I did just what you told me "Please hold me"

 When I think about you now it's not that my memory fails
 There's just no need for graphic telling of all the details
 Let's just say you taught me something that brought me from my shell
 You gave to me that first sweet taste of the heaven here in this hell

 Many happy things keep happening
 On my journey through this world
 And in many ways, that I will never understand
 I was much too late
 To be the first to make you a woman
 But you were the one
 Who made my mother's son a man