Melba Montgomery
 Writer: HARLAN HOWARD

 Recitation:

 My little boy came into the kitchen this evenin'
 While I was fixin' supper
 And he handed me a piece of paper he'd been writin' on
 And after wipin' my hands on my apron
 I read it - and this is what it said:

 For mowin' the yard - five dollars
 And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar
 And for goin' to the store - fifty cents
 An' playin' with little brother, while you went shoppin' - twenty-five
 cents
 Takin' out the trash - one dollar
 Gettin' a good report card - five dollars
 And for rakin' the yard - two dollars
 Total owed - fourteen seventy-five.

 Well, I looked at 'im standin' there expectantly
 And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind
 So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over,
 This is what I wrote:

 For nine months I carried you
 Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE
 For the nights I've sat up with you,
 Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE
 For the time and the tears.
 And the cost through the years, there's NO CHARGE
 When you add it all up.
 The full cost of my love is NO CHARGE.

 For the nights filled with dread
 And the worries ahead - NO CHARGE
 For advice and the knowledge
 And the cost of your college - NO CHARGE
 For the toys, food and clothes and for wipin' your nose
 There's NO CHARGE, son
 When you add it all up,
 The full cost of my love, is - NO CHARGE.

 Recitation:
 Well, when he finished readin'
 He had great big old tears in his eyes
 And he looked up at me and he said,
 "Mama, I sure do love you."
 Then he took the pen,
 And in great big letters
 He wrote: "PAID IN FULL."

 When you add it all up
 The cost of real love is - NO CHARGE